Methods and apparatus for revenue-optimized delivery of content in a network

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for optimizing the distribution and delivery of multimedia or other content within a content-based network. In one embodiment, the network comprises a broadcast switched cable television network, which utilizes a Network optimization controller (NOC) that processes subscriber program viewing requests to identify options available to fulfill the request (including, e.g., the creation of one or more “microcasts” specifically targeting one or more users), and evaluate these options to determine one that optimizes network operation. The NOC performs these decisions by considering various parameters including network resource availability, type of CPE, subscriber&#39;s targeted advertisement profile, and business rules programmed by operator of the network. Business methods based on such network optimization are also described.

PRIORITY AND RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to co-ownedand co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/351,185 filed on Jan.16, 2012 of the same title, and issuing as U.S. Pat. No. 8,959,563 onFeb. 17, 2015, which is a continuation of and claims priority toco-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/974,700 of the same titlefiled on Oct. 15, 2007 and patented as U.S. Pat. No. 8,099,757 on Jan.17, 2012, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. The present application is also related to co-owned U.S.provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/995,655, entitled “METHODSAND APPARATUS FOR USER-BASED TARGETED CONTENT DELIVERY” filed on Sep.26, 2007, which is also filed on Sep. 24, 2008 as U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/284,757 having the same title, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of multimediadelivery networks, and specifically in one aspect to using availablebandwidth on the network in order to provide both optimized revenue anddelivery of video services over a content-based network such as a cabletelevision network.

2. Description of Related Technology

One significant competitive challenge presently faced by networkoperators relates to managing and conserving bandwidth. This includesthe reclamation of otherwise under-utilized or unused bandwidth suchthat the service and/or customer base can be expanded withoutsignificant modifications or build-outs of the underlying networkinfrastructure. For example, it is desirable to expand the types andavailability of “next-generation” network services, includinghigh-definition (HD) broadcast, VoD, high-speed data, VoIP, InteractiveTV, etc. over time, without the need for major capital expenditures orsystem modifications. Hence, network operators are increasingly focusedon techniques for “squeezing” as much capacity out of their existingnetworks as possible.

In a conventional cable network, bandwidth planning and usage tends tobe relatively static over time. A network operator periodically changesthe channel line-up to delete channels, add new channels and services orchange the relationship between logical channel map and frequency domainlocation of the channels. Channel line-up changes are performedtypically few times a year to meet the engineering and business needsand resource available in the network. Thus, channels available in thenetwork stay relatively static when compared to the frequency with whichsubscribers tune in and out of various program channels. Additionally,when a specific channel lineup is put in place, the network bandwidthutilization remains fairly static, regardless of how many subscribersare viewing which programs at any given time.

Broadcast Switched Architecture (BSA) cable television networks such asthat described in co-assigned application Ser. No. 09/956,688, entitled“Technique for Effectively Providing Program Material in a CableTelevision System”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety,deliver only a subset of available programming to network subscribers inorder to optimize bandwidth. Delivery of programming is typically basedon customer requests for programming; however, bandwidth consumption mayvary greatly during the day. In a fixed bandwidth model, the BSAarchitecture delivers a fixed amount of programming based on the fixedbandwidth constraint; the programming actually delivered at any giventime will be only a fraction of the total of the programming availableto the user base.

Based on such constraints, the foregoing need for bandwidth optimizationand reclamation associated with a traditional network architecture isalso applicable to switched network architectures. Since switches withinthe network are used to selectively provide only those channels actuallywatched or requested by users to their hubs or nodes for delivery, thisallows for the deletion of unwatched channels from the digital broadcaststream. A “deleted” channel is automatically switched back on when asubscriber subsequently selects it, with the switching and deliverytransition being for all intents and purposes transparent to thesubscriber. This approach has obvious benefits from the standpoint ofbandwidth conservation.

The need for bandwidth conservation and the choice of multiple servicesa network operator can provide to the subscribers (e.g., broadcast, VoD,PVR/DVR, DOCSIS, VoIP, etc.) gives rise to new opportunities in terms ofhow to use incremental available bandwidth so as to best maximize theoperator's revenue or profit. This is particularly true in the BSAcontext. One such source of revenue or profit is third partyadvertising. Accordingly, the type and distribution of such advertisingis a very significant determinant of network operator revenue/profits.

In conventional cable networks, advertisement revenues depend largely onthe footprint of the network and the number of subscribers. As describedbelow, advertisements or similar promotional content may be inserted atthe national level, or locally (e.g., by the network operator). Therevenues generated are determined in large part based on the programstream into which the advertisements are inserted, and the time ofdelivery (e.g., prime-time). Advertisers may know for example that atarget demographic, such as 18-30 year-old females, has a very highviewership for a certain program at a certain time. Hence, theiradvertisement will likely obtain a high number of “looks” orimpressions, and accordingly their likely benefits in terms of such18-30 year-old females buying their products will be higher.Accordingly, the price that can be charged for such advertisingplacement is accordingly high. This system may be indexed for example tothird party indicia such as the well-known Nielsen Ratings.

However, in the BSA architecture, more control over “who sees what” interms of advertisement is possible, and revenue may be tied to aper-viewing model, where revenue is collected based how many subscribersrequested and viewed a particular program or advertisement, as well asthe demographic profile of the subscriber requesting the program.

A variety of different approaches to bandwidth optimization in light ofrevenue or profit considerations are known in the prior art. Forexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,431 to Eager, et al, issued Nov. 28, 2006entitled “Method for reduced bandwidth for on-demand data streamingusing mini-clusters” discloses an improvement on dynamic skyscraperdelivery of continuous media programs, such as video, divides thechannels used for the delivery of the video into leading and trailinggroups. A cluster defining on transmission of a program can then bebroken into mini-clusters in the leading group which may be freelymatched to full clusters in the lower group with loosened alignmentrequirements. This decoupling provides more efficient allocation ofbandwidth to on-demand consumer requests and permits strategicopportunities to merge requests with concurrently allocated bandwidthfor similar programs.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,075,945 to Arsenault, et al, issued Jul. 11, 2006entitled “Dynamic mapping of broadcast resources” discloses a methodwherein in a data communication system such as a high capacity DBSsystem, dynamic mapping of broadcast resources is provided to exploitoccasional redundancy in the program content of two or more input datastreams, freeing at least one broadcast resource to carry alternatebitstreams, such as additional programs or existing programs at higherquality. Transmission maps defining the correspondence between inputdata streams and broadcast resources, and reception maps defining thecorrespondence between broadcast resources and output data streams, areupdated as needed to dynamically modify broadcast resource mapping toincrease effective utilization of available bandwidth. Beneficialn:n-y:m mapping in a high capacity consumer DBS entertainment system isprovided. Apparatus and methods for generating, maintaining and updatingallocation maps with reduced overhead requirements, are disclosed.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20020087976 to Kaplan, et al.published Jul. 4, 2002 entitled “System and method for distributingvideo with targeted advertising using switched communication networks”discloses a system and method for delivering broadcast-quality videowith targeted advertising to viewers over the switched communicationnetwork. According to one embodiment, program streams with appropriatelyinserted splice points are transmitted from a network headend node toone or more egress nodes via a switched network. Because the switchednetwork only carries program streams while advertising is inserted atthe edges of the network, programs with demographically-targetedadvertising can be delivered to many different subscribers without theneed for using the bandwidth of the switched network to carry a uniqueprogram and advertising stream for each demographic group from the headend node.

One significant issue or disability with the foregoing methods relatesto their lack of ability to combine availability of network resourceswith the profile of subscribers requesting programs. The aforementionedprior art performs optimization on one aspect or the other of availablenetwork bandwidth or other network resources, without taking intoaccount the totality of considerations needed to optimize revenues forthe network operator.

Another significant issue with prior art approaches to bandwidthoptimization in content-based networks (including the aforementionedbroadcast switched architectures) relates to the requirement for manualintervention or input on the part of the network operator (e.g., MSO) inorder to make best use of the available bandwidth. Specifically, manysuch systems require periodic operator adjustment or input in the formof re-arranged channel line-up, which may also include the requirementfor periodic evaluation of the subscriber's viewing or tuning habits,and the generation of adjustments to be inserted into the system controlfunctions based thereon. One disability with this approach is the needfor constant (or near-constant) operator vigilance. Another disabilityis latency; the operator is basically always lagging the problem sincechanges in subscriber habits can occur rapidly, and the efficacy of anycorrections made by the operator will in large part depend on thetimeliness with which the operator performs his/her analysis andcorrective action/adjustment. Greater operator vigilance is alsorequired when the system is approaching the limits of its capacity,since excursions in demand or changes in viewer habits can easily causean over-demand condition (potentially resulting in a loss of service toone or more subscribers for a period of time).

Hence, based on the foregoing, there is a distinct need for improvedapparatus and methods that permit optimization of costs and benefits tothe network operator of fulfilling a program viewing request made by asubscriber on a request-by-request (i.e., per CPE) basis, andeffectively in real time. Ideally, such apparatus and methods wouldallow for the selection, from among multiple revenue generation/serviceoptions, the option (or collection of related options) most optimal at agiven time.

Moreover, such improved apparatus and methods would allow foroptimization of network resources such as bandwidth based on therequesting subscriber's demographic or other particular profile.Efficient use of “targeted” advertising would also be available, thatwould also maintain high signal quality through delivery to thesubscriber.

Such improved apparatus and methods would also preferably work with aset of rules defined by a network operator, without undue manualintervention, or continuous vigilance by the network operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention satisfies the foregoing needs by providingimproved apparatus and methods for fulfilling program viewing requests,such as for example by evaluating multiple options of doing so, and bypicking the option that best optimizes network operator's cost criteria,such as may be used in a cable, DSL or satellite network.

In a first aspect of the invention, a method of operating acontent-based network is disclosed. In one embodiment, the network has aplurality of consumer premises equipment (CPE) associated therewith, andthe method comprises: receiving a request for program delivery from aCPE of the network; evaluating at least two possible delivery optionsfor servicing the request, the evaluating being performed based on atleast one operational consideration and at least one businessconsideration relating to the network; and based at least in part on theact of evaluating, performing one of the delivery options in order toservice the request.

In one variant, the at least two options comprise: (i) creating a newprogram stream, and causing the CPE to tune thereto; or (ii) causing theCPE to tune to a pre-existing program stream. The at least oneoperational consideration comprises e.g., bandwidth, and the at leastone business consideration comprises revenue or profit.

In another variant, the evaluating based on at least the bandwidth andthe revenue or profit comprises performing a cost analysis for each ofthe options, and selecting the option with the optimal cost.

In still another variant, the evaluating based on at least one businessconsideration comprises evaluating based on at least one demographic orpsychographic factor associated with a subscriber of the requesting CPE.

In yet a further variant, the evaluating based on at least one businessconsideration comprises evaluating the correlation of at least onedemographic associated with a subscriber of the requesting CPE withadvertising content carried on the pre-existing stream.

In still another variant the performing one of the delivery options inorder to service the request comprises performing creating a new programstream, and causing the CPE to tune thereto, the new stream containingspliced-in advertising content, the advertising content being selectedbased at least in part on demographic data associated with therequesting CPE.

In another embodiment, the method comprises: receiving a request forprogram delivery from a CPE of the network; evaluating at least twopossible options for servicing the request in terms of a cost andbenefit of each option; and in response to the evaluating, performing atleast one of: (i) creating a new program stream, and causing the CPE totune thereto; or (ii) switching the CPE to an existing program stream,in order to service the request.

In one variant, the network comprises a broadcast switched architecturenetwork, and the evaluating is performed by a software entity disposedat least partly at a switching hub of the network. The creation of a newprogram stream comprises creating a stream having content at leastpartly determined based on a demographic associated with a user of therequesting CPE.

In another variant, creating a new program stream comprises creating astream having content at least partly determined based on a demographicassociated with a user of the requesting CPE.

In another embodiment, the method comprises: delivering at least firstand second program streams to a plurality of users, the content of thefirst and second streams each being at least in part tailored to one ormore respective demographic variables; identifying at least oneprojected bandwidth deficiency on the network; and selectively switchingones of the plurality of users from the first program stream to thesecond program stream, or from the second program stream to the firstprogram stream, based at least in part on the projected deficiency and arelationship between the respective demographic variables.

In one variant, selectively switching comprises switching enough ones ofthe plurality of users to substantially mitigate the deficiency.

In another variant, the act of identifying comprises: determining aprojected available bandwidth some time in the future; determining aprojected demand for the program; and determining the deficiency basedat least on the projected available bandwidth and the projected demand.Also, at least one of the projected available bandwidth and theprojected demand may be based on historical data for a network.

In still a further variant, selectively switching comprisesconsolidating a plurality of users of the network onto one of the firstor second streams so as to permit removal of the other of the first andsecond streams from delivery.

In yet other variants, the relationship between the respectivedemographic variables comprises a match between at least some of thevariables, or a graded correlation between at least some of thevariables.

In a second aspect of the invention, a method of managing bandwidthwithin a content-based network is disclosed. In one embodiment, thenetwork has a plurality of consumer premises equipment (CPE) andrespective users associated therewith, and the method comprises:establishing a plurality of at least partly different program streamsfor at least some of respective ones of the CPE and users; identifyingat least one bandwidth constraint on the network; and migrating at leastone of the CPE to a program stream different than that to which it ispresently tuned; and selectively removing one or more of the programstreams from being delivered over the network. The migration is based atleast in part on demographics associated with a user of the at least oneCPE.

In one variant, establishing a plurality of at least partly differentprogram streams comprises creating a streams having content at leastpartly determined based on a demographic associated with a user of arequesting CPE.

In another variant, the act of migrating based at least in part ondemographics associated with user of the at least one CPE comprises:identifying at least one of the existing program streams that shares acommon demographic with the demographics of the user of the at least oneCPE; and migrating the at least one CPE to the identified existingprogram stream.

In yet another variant, the act of identifying at least one bandwidthconstraint comprises identifying the at least one constraint based onanalysis of a predicted value of bandwidth consumption based at least inpart on historical data.

In a third aspect of the invention, a software architecture for use in acontent based network is disclosed. In one embodiment, the network has anode and a plurality of consumer premises devices in operativecommunication with the node, and the architecture comprises: a firstprocess in communication with the node; a plurality of second processesoperative to run on respective ones of the devices and communicate withthe first process. The first process is adapted to receive informationfrom the second processes and evaluate individual program deliveryrequests from the devices and determine one of a plurality of deliveryoptions which will best satisfy each the request, the determinationbeing based at least in part on the information obtained from the deviceassociated with the each request.

In one variant, the network comprises a broadcast switched architecture(BSA) network, and the information is selected from the group consistingof: (i) demographic information of a user of the consumer premisesdevice; (ii) configuration or capabilities information of the consumerpremises device; and (iii) historical tuning activity information forthe device.

In another variant, the network comprises a broadcast switchedarchitecture (BSA) network, and the information comprises demographicinformation relating to the user associated with the device, and theevaluation comprises analyzing the demographic information in relationto the content of one or more existing program streams to determine thedegree to which the demographic information correlates with the content.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, apparatus for use in a contentbased network is disclosed. In one embodiment, the network deliversprogramming specifically configured for certain viewer demographics, andthe apparatus comprises: a processor; an interface in data communicationwith the processor, the interface adapted to communicate with a storagedevice; a network interface; and at least one computer program adaptedto run on the processor. The at least one program is in one variantconfigured to: determine one or more demographics associated with atleast one subscriber of the network that is requesting a program; andperform an analysis between two or more possible options for servicingthe program request, the analysis being based at least in part on thedemographics; and select one of the options for delivery based at leastin part on the analysis.

In one variant, the apparatus is further adapted to cause a premisesdevice of the requesting subscriber to tune to a QAM corresponding withthe selected delivery option.

In another variant, the selected delivery option comprises use of anexisting program stream to satisfy the request.

In yet a further variant, the apparatus comprises a control apparatusused in a broadcast switched architecture (BSA) network switching hub.

In still another variant, the analysis based at least in part on thedemographics comprises performing a revenue-based analysis of theoptions, the options each having an at least partly differentdemographic profile, the at least partly different demographic profilesresulting in different revenues.

In a fifth aspect of the invention, a method of operating acontent-based network having a plurality of CPE operating thereon isdisclosed. In one embodiment, the CPE each receive at least a respectiveone of a plurality of program streams being delivered over the network,and the method comprises consolidating at least some of the CPE onto afewer number of the program streams in order to allow subsequent removalof one or more of the program streams within the network. Theconsolidating comprises performing an analysis of at least a portion ofthe streams, the removal of the one or more streams being based at leastin part on the analysis.

In one variant, the analysis comprises a cost-benefit analysis.

In another variant, the network comprises a broadcast switchedarchitecture (BSA) network, and the analysis is performed at least partyby a software process operative to control a switch within the BSAnetwork.

In yet another variant, the analysis comprises a demographic analysis ofthe relevant ones of the CPE currently tuned to a given one of theprogram streams, relative to another of the streams. The demographicanalysis assigns a score determined based at least in part on thecorrelation of one or more demographics of a subscriber associated withone of the relevant CPE to one or more demographics to the another ofthe streams.

In still a further variant, the method further comprises determiningthat a bandwidth constraint exists or will exist in the future on thenetwork, and the consolidating is based at least in part on thebandwidth constraint.

In another embodiment, the method comprises: determining that abandwidth constraint exists or will exist in the future on the network;and consolidating at least some of the CPE onto a fewer number of theprogram streams in order to allow subsequent removal of one or more ofthe program streams within the network. The consolidating comprisesdetermining the correlation between one or more demographics ofsubscribers associated with the at least some CPE to thosecharacterizing the one or more program streams being removed, theremoval of the one or more streams being based at least in part on thecorrelation.

In a sixth aspect of the invention, a computer readable apparatus isdisclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises a storage mediumadapted to store a computer program, and the program is adapted for usein a content-based network.

In a seventh aspect of the invention, methods of doing business basedon, inter alia, dynamic cost-benefit analysis of service options aredisclosed.

In an eighth aspect of the invention, a network is disclosed. In oneembodiment, the network is adapted to perform dynamic cost-benefitanalysis for servicing subscriber requests.

In a ninth aspect of the invention, a network architecture having asubstantially centralized content insertion splicer is disclosed. In oneembodiment, the architecture comprises an advertising splicer locatedcoincident with a network server (e.g., VoD server) that provides a moreefficient network architecture in terms of reduced stream acquisitioncosts.

In a tenth aspect, a server apparatus for use in a content based networkis disclosed. In one embodiment, the server apparatus comprises: a firstnetwork interface in data communication with the network forestablishing plurality of user sessions; and a second interface in datacommunication with an advertising or promotional content source. Theapparatus is adapted both establish a plurality of content deliverysession, and insert or splice advertising or promotional content withinprogram content delivered via the sessions, within the network.

In one variant, the network comprises a cable television network, andthe server apparatus comprises a video on demand (VoD) server disposedas a headend of the cable network.

In an eleventh aspect, a method of operating a content delivery networkhaving a plurality of consumer premises equipment (CPE) associatedtherewith is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method comprises: (i)receiving a request for program delivery from one of the plurality ofCPE; (ii) evaluating at least two possible delivery options forservicing the request, the act of evaluating being performed based on:at least one operational consideration of the network; and a historicalpattern of bandwidth use of the one of the plurality of CPE; and (iii)based at least in part on the act of evaluating, performing one of theat least two possible delivery options in order to service the request.

In a twelfth aspect, an apparatus for use in a content delivery networkconfigured to deliver content to a plurality of user devices isdisclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises at least oneinterface; a storage apparatus; a processor configured to execute atleast one computer program thereon, the at least one program comprisinga plurality of instructions which are configured to, when executed bythe processor, cause the apparatus to: (i) receive a request for contentfrom a first one of the plurality of user devices; (ii) determine alikelihood of profitability of a geographic region associated with thefirst one of the plurality of user devices; (iii) perform an analysisbetween two or more possible options for servicing the program request,the analysis being based at least in part on the likelihood ofprofitability and on one or more network considerations; and (iv) selectone of the two or more possible options for delivery based at least inpart on the analysis.

In a thirteenth aspect, a non-transitory computer readable apparatuscomprising a storage medium is disclosed. In one embodiment, the storagemedium comprises at least one computer program having a plurality ofinstructions, the plurality of instructions configured to, when executedby a processing apparatus: (i) establish a plurality of at least partlydifferent program streams for at least some of respective ones of aplurality of consumer equipment; (ii) identify at least one bandwidthconstraint on a content delivery network from which the plurality ofconsumer equipment receive content; (iii) migrate at least one of theplurality of consumer equipment to a program stream different than thatto which it is presently tuned; and (iv) selectively remove one or moreof the plurality of program streams from being delivered over thenetwork. The migration is based at least in part on a historicalprofitability of bandwidth use by the respective ones of the pluralityof consumer equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating an exemplary HFC cablenetwork configuration useful with the present invention.

FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram illustrating one exemplary HFCcable network headend configuration useful with the present invention.

FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram illustrating one exemplary localservice node configuration useful with the present invention.

FIG. 1C is a functional block diagram illustrating one exemplarybroadcast switched architecture (BSA) network useful with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A is an X-Y graph showing typical cost and revenue curves in aconventional prior art content delivery network.

FIG. 2B is an X-Y graph showing an example of bandwidth use and revenuein an exemplary broadcast switched architecture (BSA) network accordingto the present invention.

FIG. 2C is an X-Y graph showing an exemplary embodiment of fulfillingviewing requests in accordance with the present invention, wherein boththe network bandwidth use and the revenue are affected by the viewingrequests.

FIG. 3 is a logical flow diagram illustrating one exemplary embodimentof the generalized method of cost/benefit optimization according to theinvention.

FIG. 3A is a graphical illustration of one exemplary probabilitydistribution for revenue increase useful with the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a logical flow diagram illustrating one exemplary embodimentof the method of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3C is a logical flow diagram illustrating another exemplaryembodiment of the cost/benefit optimization and program allocationmethodology of the invention.

FIGS. 3D-3F illustrate various aspects of an exemplary message protocoluseful with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating a first exemplary embodiment ofa network software architecture according to the present invention.

FIG. 4B is a block diagram illustrating a second exemplary embodiment ofa network software architecture according to the present invention.

FIG. 4C is a block diagram illustrating a third exemplary embodiment ofa network software architecture according to the present invention.

FIG. 4D is a block diagram illustrating a fourth exemplary embodiment ofa network software architecture according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of a network device with cost/benefit optimizationfunctionality according to the invention.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an exemplaryembodiment of CPE adapted to support network cost/benefit optimizationfunctionality.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference is now made to the drawings wherein like numerals refer tolike parts throughout.

As used herein, the term “advertisement” and similar forms referswithout limitation to any audio, visual, or other promotion, message, orcommunication, whether for-profit or otherwise, that is perceptible by ahuman. Examples of advertisements include so-called “bumper”advertisements (advertisements inserted before or after a clientrequested program), “pause” advertisements (presented when a clientsends a pause control command to a video server or the like), oradditional and replacement advertisements.

As used herein, the term “application” refers generally to a unit ofexecutable software that implements a certain functionality or theme.The themes of applications vary broadly across any number of disciplinesand functions (such as on-demand content management, e-commercetransactions, brokerage transactions, home entertainment, calculatoretc.), and one application may have more than one theme. The unit ofexecutable software generally runs in a predetermined environment; forexample, the unit could comprise a downloadable Java Xlet™ that runswithin the JavaTV™ environment.

As used herein, the term “capacity” refers to, without limitation, theability of a network, portion of a network, or component thereof(whether individually or in concert) to provide a requested or neededservice, act, or level of performance. One commonly used metric ofcapacity is so-called “bandwidth”, roughly akin to the size of thechannel or “pipe” capable of carrying content or other information.However, capacity limitations may be imposed by any number of factors,such as the unavailability of the content from a provider (e.g., studioor television network), delays imposed by transmission, filtering,transcoding, encryption/decryption, conditional access establishmentand/or download (e.g., according to a “DCAS” or downloadable conditionalaccess system paradigm), and so forth.

As used herein, the terms “client device” and “end user device” include,but are not limited to, set-top boxes (e.g., DSTBs), personal computers(PCs), and minicomputers, whether desktop, laptop, or otherwise, andmobile devices such as handheld computers, PDAs, personal media devices(PMDs), such as for example: an iPod™, Motorola ROKR, or smartphone.

As used herein, the term “codec” refers to an video, audio, or otherdata coding and/or decoding algorithm, process or apparatus including,without limitation, those of the MPEG (e.g., MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,etc.), Real (RealVideo, etc.), AC-3 (audio), DiVX, XViD/ViDX, WindowsMedia Video (e.g., WMV 7, 8, or 9), ATI Video codec, or VC-1 (SMPTEstandard 421M) families.

As used herein, the term “computer program” or “software” is meant toinclude any sequence or human or machine cognizable steps which performa function. Such program may be rendered in virtually any programminglanguage or environment including, for example, C/C++, Fortran, COBOL,PASCAL, assembly language, markup languages (e.g., HTML, SGML, XML,VoXML), and the like, as well as object-oriented environments such asthe Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Java™ (includingJ2ME, Java Beans, etc.), Binary Runtime Environment (e.g., BREW), andthe like.

As used herein, the term “conditional access” refers to any accesscontrol scheme, whether implemented in hardware, software, or firmware(or combinations thereof), including without limitation members of the“PowerKey™” family, NDS (including VideoGuard, mVideoGuard, etc.), DVB,and Motorola/General Instrument DigiCipher® family (DigiCipher II,etc.). These can be implemented using, for example, CA-specifichardware/software elements embedded in the device, the so-called“CableCARD™” plug-in security module access technology, a downloadableCA system (DCAS), or otherwise.

Similarly, the terms “Consumer Premises Equipment (CPE)” and “hostdevice” refer to any type of electronic equipment located within aconsumer's or user's premises and connected to a network. The term “hostdevice” refers generally to a terminal device that has access to digitaltelevision content via a satellite, cable, or terrestrial network. Thehost device functionality may be integrated into a digital television(DTV) set. The term “consumer premises equipment” (CPE) includes suchelectronic equipment such as set-top boxes, televisions, Digital VideoRecorders (DVR), gateway storage devices (Furnace), and ITV PersonalComputers.

As used herein, the term “database” refers generally to one or moretangible or virtual data storage locations, which may or may not bephysically co-located with each other or other system components.

As used herein, the term “display” means any type of device adapted todisplay information, including without limitation: CRTs, LCDs, TFTs,plasma displays, LEDs, incandescent and fluorescent devices. Displaydevices may also include less dynamic devices such as, for example,printers, e-ink devices, and the like.

As used herein, the term “DOCSIS” refers to any of the existing orplanned variants of the Data Over Cable Services InterfaceSpecification, including for example DOCSIS versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0 and3.0. DOCSIS (version 1.0) is a standard and protocol for internet accessusing a “digital” cable network. DOCSIS 1.1 is interoperable with DOCSIS1.0, and has data rate and latency guarantees (VoIP), as well asimproved security compared to DOCSIS 1.0. DOCSIS 2.0 is interoperablewith 1.0 and 1.1, yet provides a wider upstream band (6.4 MHz), as wellas new modulation formats including TDMA and CDMA. It also providessymmetric services (30 Mbps upstream).

As used herein, the term “DVI” (digital video interface) refersgenerally to any type of interface (e.g., hardware and/or software)adapted to provide interface and/or conversion between different formatsor domains, including without limitation interfaces compliant with theDigital Display Working Group (DDWG) DVI specification (e.g., DVI-A,DVI-D, and DVI-I). For example, using a DVI connector and port, adigital signal sent to an analog monitor is converted into an analogsignal; if the monitor is digital, such as a flat panel display, noconversion is necessary. A DVI output is an option in OpenCablecompliant hardware that provides a high-definition TV (HDTV) outputwhich includes copy protection.

As used herein, the term “DVR” (digital video recorder) refers generallyto any type or recording mechanism and/or software environment wherebycontent sent over a network can be recorded and selectively recalled.Such DVR may be dedicated in nature, or part of a non-dedicated ormulti-function system.

As used herein, the term “headend” refers generally to a networkedsystem controlled by an operator (e.g., an MSO or multimedia specificoperator) that distributes programming to MSO clientele using clientdevices. Such programming may include literally any informationsource/receiver including, inter alia, free-to-air TV channels, pay TVchannels, interactive TV, and the Internet. DSTBs may literally take onany configuration, and can be retail devices meaning that consumers mayor may not obtain their DSTBs from the MSO exclusively. Accordingly, itis anticipated that MSO networks may have client devices from multiplevendors, and these client devices will have widely varying hardwarecapabilities. Multiple regional headends may be in the same or differentcities.

As used herein, the term “integrated circuit (IC)” refers to any type ofdevice having any level of integration (including without limitationULSI, VLSI, and LSI) and irrespective of process or base materials(including, without limitation Si, SiGe, CMOS and GaAs). ICs mayinclude, for example, memory devices (e.g., DRAM, SRAM, DDRAM,EEPROM/Flash, ROM), digital processors, SoC devices, FPGAs, ASICs, ADCs,DACs, transceivers, memory controllers, and other devices, as well asany combinations thereof.

As used herein, the terms “Internet” and “internet” are usedinterchangeably to refer to inter-networks including, withoutlimitation, the Internet.

As used herein, the term “memory” includes any type of integratedcircuit or other storage device adapted for storing digital dataincluding, without limitation, ROM. PROM, EEPROM, DRAM, SDRAM, DDR/2SDRAM, EDO/FPMS, RLDRAM, SRAM, “flash” memory (e.g., NAND/NOR), andPSRAM.

As used herein, the terms “microprocessor” and “digital processor” aremeant generally to include all types of digital processing devicesincluding, without limitation, digital signal processors (DSPs), reducedinstruction set computers (RISC), general-purpose (CISC) processors,microprocessors, gate arrays (e.g., FPGAs), PLDs, reconfigurable computefabrics (RCFs), array processors, secure microprocessors, andapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Such digitalprocessors may be contained on a single unitary IC die, or distributedacross multiple components.

As used herein, the terms “MSO” or “multiple systems operator” refer toa cable, satellite, or terrestrial network provider havinginfrastructure required to deliver services including programming anddata over those mediums.

As used herein, the terms “network” and “bearer network” refer generallyto any type of telecommunications or data network including, withoutlimitation, hybrid fiber coax (HFC) networks, satellite networks, telconetworks, and data networks (including MANs, WANs, LANs, WLANs,internets, and intranets). Such networks or portions thereof may utilizeany one or more different topologies (e.g., ring, bus, star, loop,etc.), transmission media (e.g., wired/RF cable, RF wireless, millimeterwave, optical, etc.) and/or communications or networking protocols(e.g., SONET, DOCSIS, IEEE Std. 802.3, ATM, X.25, Frame Relay, 3GPP,3GPP2, WAP, SIP, UDP, FTP, RTP/RTCP, H.323, etc.).

As used herein, the terms “network agent” and “network entity” refers toany network entity (whether software, firmware, and/or hardware based)adapted to perform one or more specific purposes. For example, a networkagent or entity may comprise a computer program running in serverbelonging to a network operator, which is in communication with one ormore processes on a CPE or other device.

As used herein, the term “network interface” refers to any signal, data,or software interface with a component, network or process including,without limitation, those of the Firewire (e.g., FW400, FW800, etc.),USB (e.g., USB2), Ethernet (e.g., 10/100, 10/100/1000 (GigabitEthernet), 10-Gig-E, etc.), MoCA, Serial ATA (e.g., SATA, e-SATA,SATAII), Ultra-ATA/DMA, Coaxsys (e.g., TVnet™), radio frequency tuner(e.g., in-band or OOB, cable modem, etc.), WiFi (802.11a,b,g,n), WiMAX(802.16), PAN (802.15), or IrDA families.

As used herein, the term “node” refers without limitation to anylocation, functional entity, or component within a network.

As used herein, the term “QAM” refers to modulation schemes used forsending signals over cable networks. Such modulation scheme might useany constellation level (e.g. QPSK, QAM-16, QAM-64, QAM-256 etc.)depending on details of a cable network. A QAM may also refer to aphysical channel modulated according to the schemes.

As used herein, the term “server” refers to any computerized component,system or entity regardless of form which is adapted to provide data,files, applications, content, or other services to one or more otherdevices or entities on a computer network.

As used herein, the term “service”, “content”, “program” and “stream”are sometimes used synonymously to refer to a sequence of packetizeddata that is provided in what a subscriber may perceive as a service. A“service” (or “content”, or “stream”) in the former, specialized sensemay correspond to different types of services in the latter,non-technical sense. For example, a “service” in the specialized sensemay correspond to, among others, video broadcast, audio-only broadcast,pay-per-view, or video-on-demand.

The perceivable content provided on such a “service” may be live,pre-recorded, delimited in time, undelimited in time, or of otherdescriptions. In some cases, a “service” in the specialized sense maycorrespond to what a subscriber would perceive as a “channel” intraditional broadcast television.

As used herein, the term “service group” refers to either a group ofservice users (e.g. subscribers) or the resources shared by them in theform of entire cable RF signal, only the RF channels used to receive theservice or otherwise treated as a single logical unit by the network forresource assignment.

As used herein, the term “storage device” refers to without limitationcomputer hard drives, DVR device, memory, RAID devices or arrays,optical media (e.g., CD-ROMs, Laserdiscs, Blu-Ray, etc.), or any otherdevices or media capable of storing content or other information.

As used herein, the term “trickle download” refers to without limitationany delivery or download mode which is at a rate appreciably less thanthe maximum capability of the extant network over which the downloadedcontent is being delivered. For example, one type of trickle downloadmight comprise a slow, substantially constant rate download “in thebackground” using small amounts of excess primary bandwidth capability.Trickle downloads may programmatic (e.g., predetermined to continue inone session until complete, such as based on a bandwidth reservation),or may also be opportunistic; e.g., conducted in two or more segments asexcess capacity becomes available.

As used herein, the terms “user channel” and “program channel” are allgenerally synonymous with the concept of a perceived stream ofinformation. For example, a program/user channel might comprise “Channel3” which carries the content of a given network (e.g., NBC). This is tobe distinguished from a physical channel, which is used to physicallycarry and distribute the content, which may for example comprise one ormore QAMs within a given portion of the RF spectrum of a cable system.

As used herein, the term “user interface” refers to, without limitation,any visual, graphical, tactile, audible, sensory, or other means ofproviding information to and/or receiving information from a user orother entity.

As used herein, the term “WiFi” refers to, without limitation, any ofthe variants of IEEE-Std. 802.11 or related standards including 802.11a/b/g/n.

As used herein, the term “wireless” means any wireless signal, data,communication, or other interface including without limitation WiFi,Bluetooth, 3G, HSDPA/HSUPA, TDMA, CDMA (e.g., IS-95A, WCDMA, etc.),FHSS, DSSS, GSM, PAN/802.15, WiMAX (802.16), 802.20, narrowband/FDMA,OFDM, PCS/DCS, analog cellular, CDPD, satellite systems, millimeter waveor microwave systems, acoustic, and infrared (i.e., IrDA).

Overview

In one salient aspect, the present invention discloses methods andapparatus for the “intelligent” optimization of content-based networkoperation based on, e.g., cost and/or revenue implications.

When a consumer premises device attached to the network tunes to aparticular program, it uses at least some network resources, but alsomay create the potential for revenue gain to the network operator. Forexample, each device asking for a unicast program delivery will useadditional bandwidth on the network. When the device tunes to a specificprogram, it may have one or more specific revenue implications to theoperator. A device may, for instance, be associated with a subscriberthat the operator has identified as a target customer for personaladvertisement. When the device requests a program viewing, this maydirectly or indirectly boost the network operator's advertisementrevenues. The more positively “correlated” the subscriber is to a targetdemographic or advertisement, the greater the ultimate revenuepotential.

In general, a network operator desires to maximize positively correlatedassets, and minimize negatively correlated assets. The operator may wishto optimize its network operation such that e.g., benefits are maximizedand burdens or costs are minimized through use of a weighted function ofthese benefits and costs.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the above-describedoptimization can advantageously be performed in a substantiallyautomated fashion by applying a set of rules via a software process(Network Optimization Controller, or NOC). The NOC evaluates the variouscosts and benefits associated with various options for servicing asubscriber content delivery request, and selects the most optimal optionbased on network operator rules that are programmed into the NOC. Forexample, the NOC may decide between instantiating a new program streamthat is specifically delivered and/or targeted to a limited number ofsubscribers, herein referred to as a “microcast” (and accordinglyconsuming additional bandwidth), versus steering the new request to anexisting program stream that has a suitable correlation to therequesting subscriber's demographics or psychographics (and perhapsutilizing the additional bandwidth for other purposes, such as a VoDsession, which may represent a better revenue opportunity).

Additionally, one aspect of the invention also provides a mechanism forthe consolidation or recombination of subscriber devices in the case ofa resource-constrained (e.g., bandwidth contentious) environment. Thismechanism allows for the intelligent migration of subscribers to a fewernumber of less-pointedly targeted streams (yet that still bear a maximalcorrelation with their demographics/psychographics), thereby reducingthe bandwidth consumption on the network.

The methods and apparatus of the present invention open up newopportunities for network operators in terms of profitability byproviding, inter alia, cost/benefit analysis on a request-by-requestbasis. This enhanced level of granularity in network control allows thenetwork operator to maintain and dynamically adjust networkprofitability on an ongoing basis, and/or evaluate and control networkoperation in light of both operational considerations (e.g., bandwidthallocation, reliability, continuity of service, etc.) and businessconsiderations (e.g., revenue, profit, customer satisfaction andsubscription/renewal levels, etc.).

Additionally, because embodiments of the invention monitor programrequests and viewer profiles (and demographics), it allows forrelatively precise impression counts to be used as feedback into the NOCengine, as well as improved advertisement billing and reporting. Forexample, the NOC knows at any given time how many subscribers are tunedto a particular program in the network, and theirdemographic/psychographic profiles and locations.

The foregoing techniques can also advantageously be implemented in apredictive or “look-ahead” fashion, both in terms of what a givensubscriber (or group of subscribers) may request in terms ofprogramming, as well as future projected bandwidth demands andconstraints (e.g., as a function of time of day, day of the year, and soforth).

In another aspect of the invention, real-time acquisition (RTA) costsare advantageously reduced through leveraging of the “microcast”concept; i.e., combination of an advertising “splicer” and a networkdevice such as a server (e.g., a VoD server). Under prior artapproaches, a plurality of separate acquisition costs (e.g., N×thenumber of zoned streams acquired) are incurred by virtue of the networkconfiguration and the fact that the splicer is separated from theserver. However, under one exemplary approach described herein, thesplicer is relocated to a VOD or other content server, thereby requiringthe acquisition of only one stream. Zoned content need not be captured.This stems primarily from the fact that the now “micro-zoned” output isconstructed at time of program stream configuration. Basically using theVOD server as a splicer/stream generator for multicast feeds helps makean economical hardware model for the implementation of BSA microcasting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments of the apparatus and methods of the presentinvention are now described in detail. While these exemplary embodimentsare described in the context of the aforementioned hybrid fiber coax(HFC) cable architecture having an multiple systems operator (MSO),digital networking capability, and plurality of client devices/CPE, thegeneral principles and advantages of the invention may be extended toother types of networks and architectures where bandwidth conservationis required or desirable, whether broadband, narrowband, wired orwireless, content or data, or otherwise. Hence, the followingdescription is merely exemplary in nature. For example, the inventionmay be practiced over a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or fiber-to-the-curb(FTTC) system or over satellite or millimeter wave-based network havingtwo-way capabilities similar to today's digital cable HFC networks.

It will also be appreciated that while described generally in thecontext of a network providing service to a customer or consumer (i.e.,residential) end user domain, the present invention may be readilyadapted to other types of environments including, e.g.,commercial/enterprise, and government/military applications. Myriadother applications are possible.

It is also noted that while the following discussion is cast primarilyin terms of two service levels (i.e., SD and HD), the methods andapparatus disclosed herein can be extended to other numbers and types ofservice levels. For example, it is foreseeable that yet even higherlevels of definition may be employed in the future (e.g., “ultra-highdefinition” or UHD), thereby allowing intelligent bandwidth conservationbetween three service levels (SD, HD, and UHD). As another option,multiple levels or rates may be present with one of the aforementionedservice levels, such as where the SD level includes levels SD1, SD2, . .. SDn, and/or the HD level similarly includes HD1, HD2, . . . HDn, witheach of these sub-levels having different data rates and/or othercharacteristics. Alternatively, bandwidth conservation according to thepresent invention may be performed not based on definition level (datarate), but some other attribute such as for example the selectiveavailability of a type of service (e.g., OD, IPTV, or DVR/PVR). Variousalternate conservation schemes are described subsequently herein ingreater detail.

It is further noted that while described primarily in the context of 6MHz RF channels, the present invention is applicable to literally anyfrequency/bandwidth, such as for example 8 MHz channels. Furthermore, asreferenced above, the invention is in no way limited to traditionalcable system frequencies (i.e., below 1 GHz), and in fact may be usedwith systems that operate above 1 GHz band in center frequency orbandwidth, to include without limitation so-called ultra-widebandsystems. Additionally, the invention is in no way limited to anyparticular modulation type or medium access scheme, and can beimplemented using for example using QAM, orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM), sigma-delta modulation (SDM), time-divisionmultiplexing (TDM), etc.

Bearer Network Architecture—

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical content-based network configuration withwhich the optimization apparatus and methods of the present inventionmay be used. The various components of the network 100 include (i) oneor more data and application origination points 102; (ii) one or morecontent sources 103, (iii) one or more application distribution servers104; (iv) one or more VoD servers 105, and (v) customer premisesequipment (CPE) 106. The distribution server(s) 104, VoD servers 105 andCPE(s) 106 are connected via a bearer (e.g., HFC) network 101. Asimplified architecture comprising one of each of the aforementionedcomponents 102, 104, 105, 106 is shown in FIG. 1 for ease ofillustration, although it will be recognized that comparablearchitectures with multiple origination points, distribution servers,VoD servers, and/or CPE devices (as well as different networktopologies) may be utilized consistent with the invention. For example,the headend architecture of FIG. 1 a (described in greater detail below)may be used.

The data/application origination point 102 comprises any medium thatallows data and/or applications (such as a VoD-based or “Watch TV”application) to be transferred to an application distribution server104. This can include for example a third party data source, applicationvendor website, CD-ROM, external network interface, mass storage device(e.g., RAID system), etc. Such transference may be automatic, initiatedupon the occurrence of one or more specified events (such as the receiptof a request packet or ACK), performed manually, or accomplished in anynumber of other modes readily recognized by those of ordinary skill.

The application distribution server 104 can be a computer system wheresuch applications can enter the network system. Distribution servers arewell known in the networking arts, and accordingly not described furtherherein.

The VoD server 105 comprises a computer system where on-demand (OD)content can be received from one or more of the aforementioned datasources 102 and enter the network system. These servers may generate thecontent locally, or alternatively act as a gateway or intermediary froma distant source.

The CPE 106 includes any equipment in the “customers' premises” (orother locations, whether local or remote to the application distributionserver 104) that can be accessed by a distribution server 104.

Referring now to FIG. 1 a, one exemplary embodiment of a headendarchitecture useful with the present invention is described. As shown inFIG. 1 a, the headend architecture 150 comprises typical headendcomponents and services including billing module 152, subscribermanagement system (SMS) and CPE configuration management module 154,cable-modem termination system (CMTS) and OOB system 156, as well asLAN(s) 158, 160 placing the various components in data communicationwith one another. It will be appreciated that while a bar or bus LANtopology is illustrated, any number of other arrangements as previouslyreferenced (e.g., ring, star, etc.) may be used consistent with theinvention. It will also be appreciated that the headend configurationdepicted in FIG. 1 a is high-level, conceptual architecture and thateach MSO may have multiple headends deployed using custom architectures.

The exemplary architecture 150 of FIG. 1 a further includes amultiplexer/encrypter/modulator (MEM) 162 coupled to the HFC network 101adapted to process or condition content for transmission over thenetwork. The distribution servers 164 are coupled to the LAN 160, whichprovides access to the MEM 162 and network 101 via one or more fileservers 170. The VoD servers 105 are coupled to the LAN 160 as well,although other architectures may be employed (such as for example wherethe VoD servers are associated with a core switching device such as an802.3z Gigabit Ethernet device). As previously described, information iscarried across multiple channels. Thus, the headend must be adapted toacquire the information for the carried channels from various sources.Typically, the channels being delivered from the headend 150 to the CPE106 (“downstream”) are multiplexed together in the headend as previouslydescribed, and sent to neighborhood hubs via a variety of interposednetwork components.

It will also be recognized, however, that the multiplexing operation(s)need not necessarily occur at the head-end 150 (e.g., in theaforementioned MEM 162). For example, in one variant, at least a portionof the multiplexing is conducted at a BSA switching node or hub (seediscussion of FIG. 1 c provided subsequently herein). As yet anotheralternative, a multi-location or multi-stage approach can be used, suchas that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,334,entitled “APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR MULTI-STAGE MULTIPLEXING IN ANETWORK” incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, whichdiscloses inter alia improved multiplexing apparatus and methods thatallow such systems to dynamically compensate for content (e.g.,advertisements, promotions, or other programs) that is inserted at adownstream network node such as a local hub, as well as “feed back” and“feed forward” mechanisms for transferring information betweenmultiplexing stages.

Content (e.g., audio, video, data, files, etc.) is provided in eachdownstream (in-band) channel associated with the relevant service group.To communicate with the headend or intermediary node (e.g., hub server),the CPE 106 may use the out-of-band (OOB) or DOCSIS channels andassociated protocols. The OCAP 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 (and subsequent)specification provides for exemplary networking protocols bothdownstream and upstream, although the invention is in no way limited tothese approaches.

It will also be recognized that the multiple servers (broadcast, VoD, orotherwise) can be used, and disposed at two or more different locationsif desired, such as being part of different server “farms”. Thesemultiple servers can be used to feed one service group, or alternativelydifferent service groups. In a simple architecture, a single server isused to feed one or more service groups. In another variant, multipleservers located at the same location are used to feed one or moreservice groups. In yet another variant, multiple servers disposed atdifferent location are used to feed one or more service groups.

“Switched” Networks

FIG. 1 c illustrates an exemplary “switched” network architecture alsouseful with the cost/revenue optimization and allocation features of thepresent invention. While a so-called “broadcast switched architecture”or BSA network is illustrated in this exemplary embodiment, it will berecognized that the present invention is in no way limited to sucharchitectures.

Switching architectures allow improved efficiency of bandwidth use forordinary digital broadcast programs. Ideally, the subscriber will beunaware of any difference between programs delivered using a switchednetwork and ordinary streaming broadcast delivery.

FIG. 1 c shows the implementation details of one exemplary embodiment ofthis broadcast switched network architecture. Specifically, the headend150 contains switched broadcast control and media path functions 190,192; these element cooperating to control and feed, respectively,downstream or edge switching devices 194 at the hub site which are usedto selectively switch broadcast streams to various service groups. A BSAserver 196 is also disposed at the hub site, and implements functionsrelated to switching and bandwidth conservation (in conjunction with amanagement entity 198 disposed at the headend). An optical transportring 197 is utilized to distribute the dense wave-division multiplexed(DWDM) optical signals to each hub in an efficient fashion.

Co-owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/956,688filed Sep. 20, 2001 and entitled “TECHNIQUE FOR EFFECTIVELY PROVIDINGPROGRAM MATERIAL IN A CABLE TELEVISION SYSTEM”, incorporated herein byreference in its entirety, describes one exemplary broadcast switcheddigital architecture useful with the present invention, although it willbe recognized by those of ordinary skill that other approaches andarchitectures may be substituted.

In order for the BSA function to be transparent to the subscriber,channel change latencies are kept to a minimum (e.g., 250 ms or less ascompared to average linear digital broadcast services). Likevideo-on-demand (VOD) systems, BSA programs are streamed to a servicegroup (contrast: switch) only when being viewed. Unlike VoD, manyviewers can view the same stream. Typically, only real-time linearprograms are included in BSA broadcasts. Since there is no storageinvolved, the “VCR” controls (e.g., trick mode functions) common to VoDare not available. In this regard, BSA is much simpler that VoD.Commercials or other programming segments cannot be skipped, and programbitrates can be treated as in more conventional systems.

In the context of the aforementioned BSA network, there are severalmetrics or indices which are useful in evaluating the performance of thenetwork. Specifically, the expression “peak streams” represents themaximum number of different program streams that are instantaneously(based on specified data intervals) needed. Using software, peak streamrequirements can be analyzed for each group size. It has been noted bythe Assignee hereof that generally speaking, as service group size isdecreased, peak stream needs also decrease. When viewed over asufficiently short time scale (e.g., two hour periods), it is possibleto compare the moment-to-moment variability in peak stream use. Notethat the physical network topology (which determines service group size)can also be modified, and is expected to migrate towards smaller groupsof subscribers over time.

It has also been noted that the smaller service groups display roughlythe same variability as the larger service groups down to a certainthreshold size. When considered as a percentage of maximum stream use,as service group size decreases beyond this threshold, variabilityincreases, and will impose a limit the amount of concentration that canbe safely implemented within the system. Concentration in the context ofBSA networks is defined as a ratio of the total bandwidth of theprograms offered, to the BSA bandwidth provided to the service group.While this is conveniently expressed as a ratio of stream counts, inpractice streams will be of various bitrates; concentration is thereforebest thought of as the ratio of the bitrates. Concentration generally(at a given grade of service or blocking frequency) trends upwards withdecreasing service group size.

Another useful metric of the value of BSA is yield. Yield is a functionof concentration and the total number of programs included. Yield isimportant to consider when comparing the value of various bandwidthreclamation techniques.

As verified by actual trials conducted by the Assignee hereof, BSAprovides significant concentration, which results in the ability tovacate significant portions of the previously occupied bandwidth (“free”bandwidth yield).

Also of interest is the metric of “redundant viewership”. Redundantviewers are those which view otherwise unique programs. Generallyspeaking, the highest number of redundant viewers occurs at prime-timeor just post prime time. This is also the time of greatest totalviewership and the time of highest peak stream needs. A design point ofX streams would provide a non-blocking grade of service; however,however, significant surplus bandwidth still exists below the X-streamlevel. Unfortunately, the greatest surpluses occur at times when otherservices (e.g., VoD) also have their lowest demands. Edge QAM resourcesharing with VoD is therefore not expected to provide significantinterleaving bandwidth gains. However, the BSA system can beadvantageously operated to allow this surplus bandwidth to be utilizedin other ways, such as for transport of data, video, voice, or evenfuture applications which would require additional bandwidth.

Gain is a useful parameter for comparison of BSA with statisticalmultiplexing technology. In BSA, percent gain is defined as:

(Concentration−1)×100  Eqn. (1)

In this context, content that occupies the “freed up” spectrum isassumed to operate with the same level of efficiency as the contentbeing processed (i.e. switched under the BSA architecture, oralternatively statistically multiplexed).

A primary advantage of the BSA paradigm is bandwidthconservation/preservation. Bandwidth for unviewed programs is notconsumed, and can be re-allocated. Similarly, new programs can be addedwithout adding bandwidth. Advantageously, programs with narrow appealcan be added in a BSA system with little if any bandwidth impact. Morepopular programs will impact the BSA bandwidth, but to a lesser extentthan was traditionally the case. Multiple bitrates can also be madeavailable for use or sale to programmers or advertisers.

BSA bandwidth efficiencies are at least in part a result ofover-subscription. Specifically, the selection of programming is greaterthan the bandwidth allocated to the service group. This can result inblocking, the case where a viewer is denied access to a requestedprogram. However, the aforementioned trials conducted by the Assigneehereof demonstrate that when properly configured, blocking events aresufficiently rare, so as to be less common than a network outage,thereby providing a sufficient level of service.

Additionally, a BSA system typically gathers and keep logs or otherrecords of programmer-specific viewership data. For example, the BSAserver gathers logs that are based on the client-server interactions.These logs or records are maintained to allow for well-considered“recapture” of non-viewed program streams (i.e., reclamation ofbandwidth). The server manages bandwidth by removing streams based onthis activity data. In typical practice, unviewed streams will bemarked, but not actually removed until the bandwidth is needed eitherbecause of a client request, or based on external resource demands suchas VoD overflow.

In one exemplary embodiment, the network session manager (BSA manager)logs all channel change events and is aware of the tuning locations ofall tuners, not just those that happen to be viewing BSA programs. Thisprovides highly accurate and complete viewership data based on actualchannel changes as contrasted with extrapolations or other estimationtechniques.

In the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the edge switch194 (generally located in the distribution hub as shown in FIG. 1 c) isflooded with all available programs. This improves transport efficiency,because a simple unidirectional “drop and continue” protocol isperformed at each hub location on a given optical transport ring 197.The concept of flooding also simplifies the transport network in that nocontrol system is needed; rather a simple “deliver everything” paradigmis used. This approach also advantageously makes this portion of thesignal chain more robust, since more complex control systems generallylend themselves to a higher operational failure rate.

Because ordinary broadcast programming is supplied using BSA, thetransport network 197 needs to have a high degree of availability. Inthe exemplary embodiment, BSA program transport is supplied through aredundant, spatially diverse counter-rotating Ethernet ring topology,although other topologies may be utilized with success.

In addition to “broadcast” content (e.g., video programming), thesystems of FIGS. 1 a and 1 c also deliver Internet data services usingthe Internet protocol (IP), although other protocols and transportmechanisms of the type well known in the digital communication art maybe substituted. One exemplary delivery paradigm comprises deliveringMPEG-based video content, with the video transported to user PCs (orIP-based STBs) over the aforementioned DOCSIS channels comprising MPEG(or other video codec such as H.264 or AVC) over IP over MPEG. That is,the higher layer MPEG- or other encoded content is encapsulated using anIP protocol, which then utilizes an MPEG packetization of the type wellknown in the art for delivery over the RF channels. In this fashion, aparallel delivery mode to the normal broadcast delivery exists; i.e.,delivery of video content both over traditional downstream QAMs to thetuner of the user's STB or other receiver device for viewing on thetelevision, and also as packetized IP data over the DOCSIS QAMs to theuser's PC or other IP-enabled device via the user's cable modem.

Referring again to FIG. 1 c, the IP packets associated with Internetservices are received by edge switch 194, and forwarded to the cablemodem termination system (CMTS) 199. The CMTS examines the packets, andforwards packets intended for the local network to the edge switch 194.Other packets are discarded or routed to another component.

The edge switch 194 forwards the packets receive from the CMTS 199 tothe QAM modulator 189, which transmits the packets on one or morephysical (QAM-modulated RF) channels to the CPE. The IP packets aretypically transmitted on RF channels that are different that the RFchannels used for the broadcast video and audio programming, althoughthis is not a requirement. The CPE 106 are each configured to monitorthe particular assigned RF channel (such as via a port or socketID/address, or other such mechanism) for IP packets intended for thesubscriber premises/address that they serve.

General Principles of Optimization—

Referring now to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C, the general cost/revenueoptimization principles of the present invention are described ingreater detail. As will be described in greater detail below, theseprinciples advantageously leverage the operational capabilities anddynamics of the BSA network paradigm so as to provide the networkoperator enhanced flexibility in allocating program streams andbandwidth so as to achieve one or more cost or revenue goals orimplement related policies.

Specifically, FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate how four (4) program viewingrequests, V1 through V4, can affect network bandwidth utilization, andthe network operator's revenue opportunity. The viewing requests in thisexample are as follows: (i) V1 is a request for a program that requiresB1 bandwidth; (ii) V2 is a request for the same program requested in V1,yet requested by a different CPE; (iii) V3 is a request for a programthat requires bandwidth B3; and (iv) V4 is a request for a program thatrequires bandwidth B4.

FIG. 2A is an X-Y graph showing typical cost and revenue curves in aconventional prior art content delivery network, such as an analog cablenetwork. In such a network, the bandwidth utilization is determined bythe channel line-up created by the network operator. Once the operatordedicates network bandwidth to carry a particular program (or channel),the bandwidth is taken up (i.e., not available for any other use),regardless of whether any subscriber is watching that program at anygiven moment or not. The network operator's revenue in this conventionalnetwork example may depend significantly on the total number ofsubscribers and program popularity ratings. However, there is noincremental opportunity for a network operator to optimize bandwidthusage or advertisement revenue based on which subscriber is requestingwhich program. This relationship between network bandwidth use, networkrevenues and program viewing details is represented in FIG. 2A asfollows. The first line 203 represents network revenue, and the secondline 201 shows commitment to carriage of programs on the network as afunction of program viewing requests V1, V2, V3 and V4 (shown along theabscissa or X-axis 200). As illustrated, the revenue remains constant atvalue R0 and bandwidth utilized remains constant at B0 regardless ofindividual program viewing requests by viewers.

In contrast, FIG. 2B shows an example of bandwidth use and revenue in anexemplary broadcast switched architecture (BSA) network of the typepreviously described herein. In such a network, each viewing requestfrom a CPE 106 is fulfilled by a network-side entity (e.g., BSA switchcontroller) by providing a flow of the requested program to therequesting CPE. Such a flow may be established anew, or the requestingCPE may be instructed to share an ongoing program flow by tuning to thatestablished program channel. In this example of FIG. 2B, no revenueoptimization is performed based on the viewing requests. Thus, therevenue as a function of the viewing requests is constant with value R1,as shown by the first line 206.

Also in this example, each program viewing request is fulfilled bystarting a new program flow, thereby increasing the usage of networkbandwidth for each program viewing request. In the illustration of FIG.2B, the network bandwidth utilization prior to receiving any viewingrequest is B0. Viewing request V1 is fulfilled 208 by adding a flow thatincreases network bandwidth utilization by B1 on the cost curve 204.Similarly, satisfying viewing request V2 costs the network additionalbandwidth B2 (as shown at point 210), viewing request V3 costsadditional bandwidth B3 as shown by point 212, and viewing request V4cost additional bandwidth B4 as shown in point 214.

FIG. 2C shows an exemplary embodiment of fulfilling the viewing requestsV1 through V4 in accordance with the present invention, wherein both thenetwork bandwidth use and the revenue are affected by the previouslydescribed viewing requests. When the viewing request V1 is received, thenetwork bandwidth usage increases by B1 as shown by point 230 on thebandwidth utilization curve 250, so as to accommodate flow of therequested program through the network. At the same time, the revenueopportunity for the operator increases by the amount R2, as shown atpoint 236 on the revenue curve 252. Because the next request V2 is forthe same program as V1 (but from a different CPE 106), the network isable to fulfill the next viewing request V2 without any increase in thenetwork bandwidth utilization. This is represented by point 232 on thecurve 250. However, the network revenue increases as indicated by point238 on the revenue curve 252 due to, inter alia, the new viewer beingwithin the target demographic/psychographic. The remaining viewingrequests V3 and V4 result in bandwidth increases B3 and B4,respectively, shown as points 233 and 234 on the graph, andcorresponding revenue increases R4 and R5, shown as points 240 and 242on the graph.

The above three examples illustrate some of the revenue or revenueoptimization opportunities presented to a network operator bysatisfaction of program requests from the subscribers of the network.Specifically, the network operator can deploy means of fulfillingviewing requests that takes into account the implications of eachviewing request both for (i) the available network resources (e.g.,network bandwidth of the example described above), and (ii) networkrevenue opportunities (further described subsequently herein). Such anarrangement, among other benefits, allows the operator to trade offnetwork bandwidth against revenue opportunities. For example, in certaincases, the operator may decide to sacrifice network bandwidth andinstantiate a new program stream in order to fulfill a user request fora program stream that is already flowing in the network (such as thecase of viewing request V2 above) when the benefit of increased revenuepotential outweighs such additional bandwidth consumption.

Such results are achieved by, in one exemplary embodiment of theinvention, deploying a Network Optimization Controller (NOC) process tohelp analyze and fulfill viewing requests. The exemplary NOCcontinuously monitors network resources and revenue potentials in amanner specified by the network operator (e.g., according to a set ofprescribed business and/or operational rules), and fulfills programviewing requests by performing cost analysis of various ways in which tofulfill the requests, and selecting the “most optimal” option. Furtherdetails of the exemplary NOC process, and other aspects of the presentinvention, are now described in detail.

Network Optimization Controller (NOC)—

The exemplary NOC of the invention comprises a logical supervisoryentity (e.g., unitary or distributed software process) that implementscost/revenue optimization functions or rules as part of fulfillingprogram viewing requests. In various embodiments, the NOC may beimplemented at a central location for the entire network (such as e.g.,a regional or national level service center), one or more headends 150,or alternatively in a more locally distributed manner, such as onexisting network components (e.g., the hub switching controller in a BSAnetwork of the type shown in FIG. 1C herein).

In one exemplary embodiment, the NOC is deployed tocost/revenue-optimize a subset of the network herein referred to a“zone.” In the zone for which the NOC is responsible, the networkoperator programs the NOC with the topology of that zone, locations ofprogram sources within the network, a cost and/or revenue profile ofeach CPE 106 within the zone, and/or other operational parameters suchas for example total network bandwidth available (and perhaps theallocation of such bandwidth between DOCSIS channels and 6-MHz digitaltelevision channels).

The NOC utilizes a set of MSO rules in order to implement the foregoingcost/revenue optimization on a dynamic (and very granular) basis. Whilethe exemplary implementation of the NOC is substantially automated,parameters associated with these rules can also be manually controlledif desired, so as to provide for the ability of operator control oroverride based on existing network circumstances. For example, one rulemay provide different weights to benefit/burdens during the prime timecompared to early morning hours. Another such rule may apply differentweight to a live streaming compared to streaming to the DVR function ofa CPE. Exemplary manually controlled rules could include changing weightof the network from DOCSIS-based delivery to digital cable delivery, ifDOCSIS bandwidth becomes unavailable due to network outage.

Methods implemented by the exemplary NOC are now described in greaterdetail in the context of an exemplary broadcast switched architecture(BSA) network of the type previously described, although it will beappreciated that these methods are in no way limited to such anarchitecture.

Methods—

Referring now to FIG. 3, one exemplary embodiment of the generalizedmethodology of network cost/benefit optimization according to theinvention is described. Note that the various steps shown are shown in asequence only for ease of explanation. Actual implementations mayperform intermediate steps in a different sequence, omit some steps ifnot included in the optimization rules of a network or perform somesteps together.

As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 comprises first receiving one or morecontent requests from network user(s) per step 302. It will beappreciated that while the following methodology is described in termsof a single user request, the logic embodied in this method 300 (and infact other methods described herein) may be applied to larger groups ofnetwork users, and also may be applied in an iterative or sequentialfashion (e.g., where the request associated with a first user isresolved at least in part before a request from a second user isprocessed, the outcome of the processing of the first user request beingused as an input to the decision-making process of the second userrequest). Myriad other combinations and permutations of the foregoingwill be appreciated by those of ordinary skill given the presentdisclosure.

Next, per step 304, information relating to network “costs” associatedwith various options for servicing content requests is gathered, asdescribed in greater detail subsequently herein.

Per step 306, information relating to network “benefits” for servicingthe content request (also described subsequently herein) is gathered.

Once the information regarding costs and benefits has been obtained persteps 304 and 306, the method 300 then evaluates this informationaccording to one or more rules per step 308 in order to identifyspecific cost-benefit tradeoffs associated with various options forservicing the user service request.

Per step 310, the various cost-benefit tradeoffs of the differentavailable options are evaluated to determine the optimal choice, and theoptimal choice selected (unless overridden by a supervisory or otherlogical process).

In a simple example of the foregoing, the information obtained from step304 may indicate that servicing the request by instantiating a new BSAprogram stream would “cost” the network X amount of bandwidth, and costlittle if any bandwidth or other resources (assume zero) if the requestwas serviced by an existing stream. The information obtained per step306 might further indicate that if a new stream is instantiated for therequest, net revenue to the network has a mean or median probability of0.66 (66% chance) of increasing revenue by Y, a 0.25 (25%) probabilityof increasing revenue by Y+a, and so forth (see FIG. 3A). Similarly, thenet revenue effect of not instantiating the new stream, and servicing itwith an existing stream would be say zero with respect to that stream,but the “saved” bandwidth could then be used to service a VoD requestwhich has a given (assume deterministic) revenue benefit of Z. Hence,the evaluation and selection processes of steps 310 and 312 wouldeffectively decide whether it was better to instantiate the new streamat a cost of X bandwidth in order to obtain a likelihood of increasedrevenue according to FIG. 3A, and ostensibly at a revenue cost of Z (dueto the “lost” VoD stream). Depending for example on the relationshipbetween Y and Z, the MSO might decide to instantiate the new stream,especially if bandwidth is not constrained at that point (i.e., the VoDstream would not be lost, since plenty of bandwidth exists to serviceboth the new BSA stream and the VoD session).

Alternatively, if bandwidth is tightly constrained, the aforementionedtradeoff between Y and Z would be more pertinent, and could be evaluatedaccording to e.g., a prescribed algorithmic rule imposed by the MSO(e.g., if constrained and Y>Z by n percent, then instantiate new BSAstream; otherwise, do not instantiate). It will be appreciated that muchmore intricate algorithms may be developed and applied by the MSO,including those taking into account the aforementioned statisticaldistribution of revenue probability shown in FIG. 3A.

Alternatively, it will be appreciated that statistically-based ordiscrete models need not be used; rather, the decision logic maycomprise e.g., Boolean logic, Bayesian or Dempster-Schaefer logic, fuzzylogic (e.g., variable values such as “high revenue”, “medium revenue”,“low revenue”, etc.) of the type well known to those of ordinary skillin the mathematical and computer logic arts. Hence, the MSO canadvantageously make its implementation as detailed or simplistic as itdesires, and even dynamically alter the rule sets applied underdifferent operational or business climates. For instance, a first ruleset might be imposed during normal operation, and a second rule setduring maintenance or equipment failure periods. Or, a first rule setcould be applied during prime-time, and different rule sets during otherperiods. As yet another alternative, different rule sets could beapplied during different holidays (or holiday season, such as the“Christmas rule set”), which are different than the normal rule sets. Analmost limitless number of different rule sets and permutations arepossible under the present invention.

See also the discussion provided subsequently herein (“ExemplaryOptimization Rules”) for examples of different rules that might beapplied per the method 300 of FIG. 3.

It will also be appreciated that in a resource-contentious environment(e.g., wherein bandwidth is limited and being requested by variouscompeting assets or processes), or to maximize the plant efficiency, agiven subscriber may be tuned to an existing stream or microcast toallow for another subscriber also watching the same programming, to betargeted with a higher value microcast based on that other subscriber'sdemographic, psychographic, or other profile. Similarly, as more andmore users are targeted with streams or microcasts, the number of suchmicrocasts that may normally be delivered for a given network isincreased. Hence, if yet a further subscriber tunes to a differentprogram not currently being delivered, and bandwidth is in contention,then bandwidth may be freed-up (released) by consolidating microcastsinto a larger microcast (macrocast) to make delivery of the requestedbut undelivered program possible, thereby maximizing plant bandwidth.This approach helps mitigate the adverse effect of creating multipledifferent “spliced” versions of content that could rapidly saturate theavailable QAMs on the network, by providing an intelligent mechanism forrecombination or consolidation of users onto existing or new microcastsbased on, e.g., demographics/psychographics and profit considerations aswell.

For example, consider the case where the NOC creates a new microcast ortargeted stream for at least some new users submitting service requests.Assuming that each of these streams continues to be delivered while newones are added, there will rapidly come a point where availablebandwidth is used up, and no new targeted streams (or for that matterVoD sessions, etc.) can be added; the network is bandwidth constrained.In order to free up additional bandwidth without “dropping” subscribers,the NOC of the present invention can be used to evaluate thedemographics/psychographics and cost/benefit of each proposed course ofaction (including adding a new microcast at possible expense of VoD orother requests, consolidating existing users on a fewer number ofmicrocasts and remove the unused ones, or implementing other mechanismsto reduce bandwidth consumption, such as a shift to another morecompressed encoding, or to SD with upconversion from HD, etc.). Theaforementioned “intelligent” recombination or consolidation ofsubscribers onto a fewer number of microcasts based on commondemographics/psychographics is a particularly useful way of freeing upbandwidth in such constrained environments while still maintainingdesirable advertising and demographic/psychographic properties (i.e.,having people watching programs/advertisements that are well suited totheir demographics and/or personality from a revenue or “impressions”perspective). This is to be contrasted with a prior art broadcastswitched approach, wherein programs are simply switched in or out basedon whether one or more subscribers is watching or has requested them.

Targeted streams (i.e., those with advertising or other content directedto a particular demographic/psychographic or even particular networkuser) can be produced using a number of mechanisms. For example, in onevariant, a digital advertising splicer of the type describedsubsequently herein can be used to splice the targeted content into astream delivered to that user. Alternatively, one or more subscriber CPEcan be directed to tune to an unused transmission channel for receipt ofa substitute set of advertisements, such as via the targetingadvertisement methods described in co-owned and co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/639,070 filed Aug. 12, 2003 and entitled“TECHNIQUE FOR EFFECTIVELY DELIVERING TARGETED ADVERTISEMENTS THROUGH ACOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK HAVING LIMITED BANDWIDTH,” which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety. Other approaches may be used aswell, such as those described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.20020087976 to Kaplan, et al., previously discussed herein, andincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 3B illustrates one exemplary implementation of the methodology ofFIG. 3. The flowchart 330 shows a starting point 340 when the previouslydescribed NOC receives a program viewing request from a network CPE 106.In the next step 342, the NOC determines whether the program iscurrently being transmitted on the network. If the program is beingtransmitted, it gives the NOC an option to evaluate if the transmissioncan be shared with the CPE issuing request in step 340, per step 343.Next, in step 344, the NOC locates and evaluates the subscriber'sprofile (such as via an associated MSO billing or subscriptiondatabase), and in step 346 the NOC evaluates the relevant CPE profile.Such evaluations under steps 344 and 346 could include details such ashow many tuners are available on the CPE, whether it has a DVR or massstorage, processing/RAM capabilities, the presence of a DCAS(downloadable conditional access system and associated securemicroprocessor) of other CA environment, whether the subscriber belongsto a targeted advertisement demographic/psychographic group, the CPE'sability to receive DOCSIS or HD programs, decryption or codec capabilityof the CPE, and other well known parameters useful in setting up aprogram flow. Some of the profile details used in steps 344 and 346 maybe available to the NOC by inquiring a network-side server or database(see discussion of FIGS. 4A-4D provided subsequently herein), whileother details may interactively be gathered from the CPE such as viapolling, periodic upstream “update” communications, etc.

Next, in step 348, the NOC evaluates the operational status of thenetwork. This evaluation includes, but is not limited to, checking onavailable bandwidth, available VoD server resources, available ingressresources for capturing and transmitting live video in the network, timeof day, and/or any promotions, restrictions, or special handlingrequirements applicable to the requested program. Once the requiredinformation is collected in steps 342, 344, 346 and 348, in step 350 theNOC determines what options are available to fulfill the requestedprogram. Such options include, but are not limited to, instructing therequesting CPE 106 to join an ongoing program flow (e.g., tuning thatCPE to a switched-on BSA channel), setting up a new program flow for therequest, rejecting request for lack of resources (such as by using themethods and apparatus described in co-owned and co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/706,620 filed Feb. 14, 2007 and entitled“METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTENT DELIVERY NOTIFICATION ANDMANAGEMENT”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, includingfor example notification of delayed delivery of services to therequesting subscriber), modifying some of the parameters of therequested program (e.g., supplying the requested content at a differentbitrate, format or encoding, such as described in co-owned andco-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/881,034 filed Jul. 24,2007 entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMAT SELECTION FOR NETWORKOPTIMIZATION”, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety), and offering promotional upgrades to or other specialfeatures associated with the requested program. The NOC checks in step352 if some of these options require selection from the subscriber. Ifno subscriber input is required, the NOC evaluates in step 354 the coststo the network operator of the various program fulfillment options.Based on the rules put in place by the network operator, the NOC in step356 selects the option that is optimized for the network (according tothen-prevailing MSO selection/optimization criteria), and programfulfillment according to the chosen options follows thereafter.

It is also noted that the methods of the present invention allow forrelatively precise counts of so-called “impressions” (loosely defined aspresentation(s), “views” or “perceptions” by a subscriber, which may becorrelated to a user action, or to revenue received by the MSO) to begathered, and even to be used as feedback into the NOC decisionalgorithms so as to adjust future NOC decisions. In one embodiment, userimpressions are used as a basis to group together or alternativelyunpack particular subscribers within a microcast. The MSO canselectively shape its impressions-versus-revenue distribution as desiredusing the microcasting concept (e.g., adjusting the allocation ofsubscribers to particular microcasts in order to generate desireddistributions, such as one-hundred “$1 impressions” versus one “$100impression”). This allocation may be driven for example based on revenueconsiderations; e.g., where the MSO or their advertiser can derive agreater economic revenue from delivering a certain advertising orpromotional content element to a larger number of less tightly coupledor targeted users as opposed to delivery of a more targeted advertisingor promotion to a much small group of users, or vice versa. Forinstance, in a node comprising 500 subscribers, one of which is anotoriously heavy viewer and purchaser of goods or services, the MSO mayopt to deliver very targeted advertising to that one select user,anticipating that the advertising “yield” (i.e., good or servicespurchased) from the impressions by that sole user will outweigh theyield from other uses of these assets within the network.

Moreover, such data can be used to provide enhanced advertisementbilling and reporting; e.g., by detailing for a given advertiser howmany microcasts their advertisement was placed into (correlated to howmany impressions their advertisement received), and even the types ofsubscriber demographics/psychographics that the advertisement wasdelivered to. Specifically, in one embodiment, the NOC tracks how manysubscribers are on a given microcast or macrocast at any given time andstores this subscriber versus microcast/macrocast data, thus allowingfor later distribution or analysis.

In some embodiments of the invention, optimization may also beimplemented using input from the subscriber or the CPE 106 itself. Forexample, based on the then-prevailing network condition, the subscribermay be given a menu of choices (such as via an EPG or GUI interactivewindow generated on their display device), each choice being associatedwith a different per-view cost to the subscriber. For example, suchchoices could include: (i) joining an ongoing SD or HD program, (ii)starting a new SD or HD program flow for that user, (iii) viewing therequested program at a later time using “download and save” technique,or delayed notification as previously described herein, and so forth.The cost associated with each choice may be factored into theaforementioned optimization computation. A subscriber's choice may bebased on explicit selection by the subscriber (e.g., having thesubscriber affirmatively interact with the GUI menu or other interface),or by having a set of default choices stored for the subscriber eitherat the CPE or at a server or database in the network. Other options arepossible, such as where the subscriber allows the MSO to decide the bestoptions based on one or more optimization parameters provided by thesubscriber (e.g., “always minimize cost” or “always select HD whereavailable”). The aforementioned optimization may also be performed on aper-tuner basis, as opposed to a per-CPE or per-subscriber basis.

As another alternative, the user might be able to select between a“non-targeted” and “targeted” version of a program stream as previouslydescribed, whether for the same or different cost (as determined by theMSO). For example, as noted above, the MSO may decide as part of itsoptimization process to deliver a non-targeted version of a programstream (i.e., an existing BSA stream not specifically instantiated ortailored for that user), as opposed to creating a new stream that is(optionally) targeted to that particular user'sdemographic(s)/psychographic(s), such as to e.g., conserve bandwidth foranother use such as a VoD session. However, if the user is willing topay extra for the “targeted” stream, then this can be factored into thecalculus performed by the NOC algorithms during optimization. Forinstance, the additional revenue generated from the user in this fashionmight tip the balance in favor of instantiating the new targeted stream,since it might give the MSO more revenue than a VoD session using thesame bandwidth.

The subscriber's motivation in paying more for a targeted stream versusa “generic” stream might comprise the fact that the subscriber wouldreceive advertising, promotions, and even to some degree content whichwas more suited to their particular demographic/psychographic (and henceostensibly more useful and meaningful to that particular subscriber).For example, in a targeted stream, the advertisements and previews forupcoming programs would be adjusted so as to best cater to or satisfythat subscriber. Similarly, the subscriber can be given a preferenceconfiguration menu or other GUI via a client application (see discussionof CPE 106 related to FIG. 6 provided subsequently herein), wherein theycan set their own personal “target” preference. These might include,without limitation, the genre or source of advertisements to be includedor blocked (e.g., no feminine product ads, no ads from a particularvendor because they annoy the subscriber, etc., but as much golf-relatedcontent as possible), no transient on-screen promotional displays (e.g.,small icons or moving animations at the bottom of the display), nochannel identification icons on the display, and so forth. In effect,the subscriber would be paying for the ability to shape the content or“program space” delivered to them.

Similarly, in a passive variant of the foregoing, the NOC and/or clientsoftware application on the CPE 106 (see discussion of FIG. 6) may beconfigured to obtain and evaluate user historical tuning and demographicdata associated with that CPE in order to shape a subscriber's programspace without the need for affirmative input from the subscriber.Rather, data is compiled from the CPE (and optionally any registration,account setup, etc. information possessed by the MSO) as to user tuninghabits, PPV or VoD requests, etc., and that information analyzed inorder to shape the content delivered. For example, if the data from aparticular CPE indicates that the subscriber has high persistence (i.e.,few tune-away events) on the Golf Channel and golf-relatedadvertisements, and comparatively lower persistence on most othersubjects, then it can be assumed that the subscriber is at leastsomewhat interested in golf, and their program stream customized todeliver more golf-related content.

In terms of demographic/psychographic evaluation for purposes of interalia stream generation, recombination or consolidation, severalapproaches may be employed. In one variant, a demographic orpsychographic profile of the subscriber is used, comprising a pluralityof data elements.

In the present context, a demographic generally refers to a statistic orcategorization of a subscriber based on their physical or otherattributes; e.g., 18-30 year-old college educated females living inurban areas. A psychographic, on the other hand, generally refers to apersonality or behavior profile; e.g., the group of users who are“channel hoppers”, who are impatient, or who become annoyed at too manyadvertisements in a row. This information might be gleaned from asubscriber's behavior (e.g., frequent tuning, low persistence), from apersonality profile based on on-line purchases or websites visited, viaa questionnaire the subscriber fills out, etc. These two factors(demography and psychography) can provide a powerful description of agiven subscriber in terms of allowing targeting of content oradvertisements that will “resonate” with that particular subscriber.

For instance, one such profile may include variables for age, sex,geographic location (e.g., zip code, state, city, or other demarcation),income level, stated or perceived topical areas of interest (e.g., golf,fishing, gardening, etc.), typical viewing hours (e.g., based onhistorical tuning data gleaned from that subscriber's CPE), tuningpersistence (i.e., are they a “channel hopper” or not), primary viewingchannels (e.g., a histogram or other distribution of viewing percentageper channel/program), and so forth. These may be encoded and retained ina data structure or record, such as an XML metadata file of the typewell known in the programming arts, that is part of a NOC-local orheadend database. For example, in one embodiment, the data structurecomprises a table or file comprising the subscriber's CPE cryptographicone-way hash (see discussion elsewhere herein regarding anonymity) toidentify the CPE/subscriber anonymously, and encoded variables for age,income, sex, etc., as illustrated in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 HASH: 100010111010111110010011 PARAMETER VALUE ENCODING Age 0501 = 00-14 02 = 15-27 03 = 28-35 04 = 36-45 05 = 46-65 06 = >65 Sex 0101 = Male 02 = Female Income 03 01 = <20,000 02 = 20,001-45,000 03 =45,001-75,000 04 = 75,001-150,000 05 = >150,000 Location 92127 ZipViewing peak 22:00 GMT Tuning persistence 02 01 = Low = <60 sec. 02 =Med = 60 sec.-5 min. 03 = High = >5 min. Primary channels 002, 027, PerEPG 142, 147 HD capability 01 01 = Yes 02 = No 03 = UpconversionSubscription level 04 01 = Basic 02 = Basic Plus 03 = Enhanced 04 =PremierThe data structure may also be made at least in part human-readable ifdesired, and also optionally accessible/searchable via a search enginefor added flexibility. The previously described Boolean, Bayesian orDempster-Schaefer, or fuzzy (e.g., variables such as “high income”,“medium income”, “low income”, etc.) variables of the type well known tothose of ordinary skill can be used to represent subscriber/CPEvariables as well.

CPE and related equipment configuration information may also be includedin a subscriber/CPE demographic data structure (record), in order toprovide ready access for the NOC to CPE/equipment capabilities andconfiguration. For example, the record may include data such as CPEtype, processor speed, memory (RAM) capacity, middleware type/version,error logging capability, presence of multiple tuners (e.g., via TUNERID variable), MAC, HD decoding capability, and so forth. Thisinformation may be useful in, among other things, the NOC's analysis ofwhether to consolidate users onto certain streams. Specifically, if theNOC is seeking to recombine or merge two subscribers onto a given commonprogram stream (such as in the aforementioned scenario where bandwidthis in contention), the NOC may not only evaluate the demographics of thesubscribers to determine how good a “fit” they are, but also whether thetwo CPE are capable of receiving and decoding the current stream format.For instance, both users may not have an HD receiver or H.264 decoder,and hence cannot share an HD stream.

Moreover, the present invention contemplates the use of a streamdemographic or characterization file or other such data structure. Forexample, when a user request for a given program is received, the NOCmay decide to generate a new program stream that is tailored or targetedto that particular subscriber (assuming one does not already exist, andbandwidth is not in contention). At this time, the NOC process cancreate a stream characterization file which describes the variousattributes of the stream from at least a demographic/psychographicperspective (i.e., the basis of how and why the stream was “targeted” inthe fashion it was). Upon receiving subsequent program requests, the NOCcan, if the request is for a program being carried on that existingstream, evaluate the requesting subscriber's demographic metadata file(previously described) and compare it to the stream characterizationprofile to determine if the subscriber should be tuned to that existingstream, or a new stream instantiated with e.g., advertising moretargeted to the requesting subscriber spliced in.

Comparison of the subscriber and stream profiles can be accomplishedreadily by the NOC process, such as by use of an algorithm that “scores”the comparison on various attributes of interest. As a simple example,the algorithm might look for matches on several variables (e.g., age/agerange, sex, income, etc.), and add up points for each existing matchfrom the comparison, wherein if the total of all points exceeds aprescribed value, the two profiles are deemed a “match”. Alternatively,a more incremental or granular approach can be used, such as where thedegree of match is graded (e.g., if one age value is within oneincrement or value of the other, it will be assigned a certainpercentage match, if within two increments, a lower percentage, and soforth), and used as an input to subsequent NOC processing based on otherconsiderations such as cost/benefit, CPE configuration, etc. In thisfashion, the MSO can utilize the NOC to grade various streamgeneration/recombination options depending on both network operationalcircumstances and subscriber demographics/psychographics (and yet otherfactors if so incorporated into the NOC logic).

As previously alluded to, recombination or consolidation of subscribersin order to allow removal of one or more existing streams within thenetwork may be accomplished on a cost/benefit basis as well. Aspreviously described, the decision to generate a new targeted stream, oralternatively tune the requesting subscriber to an existing stream, maybe predicated on cost and benefit considerations, such as revenue orimpressions generated by spawning the new targeted stream versus otheruses of the bandwidth (e.g., to allow for another VoD stream, or moreDOCSIS downstream bandwidth). Similarly, the decision on which existingstream to migrate subscribers to in the event a bandwidth contentionsituation is reached, and which stream(s) to remove, can be based onsuch analysis. For example, in one embodiment, demographic/psychographicanalysis of the relevant subscriber population currently tuned to agiven stream relative to a second stream can be employed in order todecide which of the existing streams will remain and which will bedropped. In one variant, a “highest total score” approach is utilized,wherein the demographics of a subscriber of interest is compared orcorrelated to those of a given candidate stream in order to generate ascoring of the overall correlation between the two. This process isrepeated across all relevant subscribers, and a total correlation scoreor metric generated for each such candidate stream. The stream(s) withthe highest total correlation score is thus retained, and those with thelowest score dropped, e.g., in order of increasing correlation asbandwidth constraints demand.

To the degree that the NOC or optimization process utilizesubscriber-specific or CPE-specific data in its operation (such as fordetermining the aforementioned demographic/psychographic profile of aCPE/subscriber on the network, and gathering historical tuning or otheroperational data such as power on/off times, CPE capabilities andsoftware installed, etc.), such data can optionally be protected so asto maintain subscriber privacy. For example, the MSO might use amechanism to anonymously identify and associate the aforementioned datawith particular CPE (and hence individual subscriber accounts). In oneembodiment, subscriber identities are optionally protected by hashing orencryption of the tuner address or the like prior to logging andstorage. The stored “hashed” address or other parameter (e.g., TUNER ID)and associated events are therefore not traceable to a particular useraccount. The resulting obscured tuner address is repeatable so thenecessary tuning location and user activity tracking may be performedwhile still maintaining complete anonymity. Alternatively, all orportions of the user-specific (albeit anonymous) information may bestripped off before storage of the activity or configuration data withinthe historical database. See, e.g., co-owned and co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/186,452 filed Jul. 20, 2005 and entitled “METHODAND APPARATUS FOR BOUNDARY-BASED NETWORK OPERATION”, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety, for exemplaryimplementation of such anonymous mechanisms. Accordingly, the MSO (orNOC itself) can evaluate individual CPE 106 according to an activity orconfiguration analysis gleaned from that particular CPE (i.e., on aper-CPE basis) if desired. The targeted advertising previously describedcan also advantageously be performed anonymously; i.e., the MSO or NOCmay know that a given CPE 106 identified by a given hash is requesting aprogram stream, and that per the MSO database, the CPE with that hash isin the over-40, golf-watching, white male demographic, but not who theparticular subscriber is or where there premises is located.

Content Segmentation—

Various types of content segmentation technology may also be usedconsistent with the present invention. In a broad sense, contentsegmentation refers to the process where a content stream, or portionsthereof, is segmented into smaller components. Packetization of contentstreams is one form of segmentation; however, at a more macro level,groups of packets correlating to segmentation boundaries may be formedso as to provide inter alia convenient boundaries for insertion of othercontent. For example, one form of segmentation comprises segmenting aprogram stream at various locations within the stream corresponding toe.g., the beginning or end of a program, scene changes (such as whereadvertisements might be spliced in), or other logical boundaries.Alternatively, segmentation may occur based on a temporal scheme (e.g.,a boundary or segmentation at every 5.0 minutes of content). Otherapproaches may be used as well, as will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art. Such segmentation techniques advantageouslyallow the content provider and/or MSO to more finely control thedelivery of the content to subscribers, as well as to tailor the contentstream to individual subscribers (or groups of subscribers) orsituations. For instance, one use of segmentation allows an MSO or otherentity to provide “branch points” or “jumps” within the flow of programmaterial, much like branch and jump instructions are used to move withinvarious portions of computer code running on a digital processor.

In one variant, the subscriber(s) may be given an input as to which or aplurality of options they would like to see (e.g., picking one or threedifferent endings for a movie), with the branch point for the threedifferent logical flows comprising a content segmentation point orboundary.

In another variant, subscribers may be given an option to skip overportions of the content streams or advertisements; the use ofsegmentation allows this skipping to be more precise, and obviates theneed for subscribers to fast-forward and rewind until the achieve theexact location of the stream where the desired program content resumes.

Additionally, segmentation affords the content provider, MSO and/orsubscriber the ability to treat or characterize different portions ofcontent differently. For example, in one variant, the content provider(e.g., studio) may pre-segment a movie and associate descriptivemetadata and temporal coordinates with each segment. Tagging or markingapproaches may also be used; see, e.g., the exemplary “SceneMaker” videotagging approach of Gotuit Media Corp. (www.gotuit.com), which providesbookmarking and “deep-tagging” specific scenes found in videos posted tosites such as Google Video, YouTube, Dailymotion and Metacafe. Once avideo is tagged, it can be shared on a partial basis; i.e., only taggedportions if desired, thereby eliminating extraneous or irrelevantmaterial.

Hence, in one variant of the present invention, the movie or othercontent element is effectively cut up into a series of vignettes thatare characterized from a topical or other perspective (e.g., “lovescene”, “car chase scene”, etc.; “scenes with Nicole Kidman”, “scenesinappropriate for viewers under the age of 17”, etc.). Accordingly, theprovider, MSO or subscriber may specify the treatment of different typesor classifications of segments; e.g., by delivering content segmentsrestricted to a certain class, genre, or scheme, and so forth.

Similarly, from the MSO perspective, the MSO NOC or other networkprocess can direct individual network or client processes (e.g., a VoDSRM, software application running on a DSTB, etc.) to selectivelybranch, jump or skip over content based on analysis of the metadataincluding for example evaluation of the correlation of the targetsubscriber's demographic/psychographic profile in light of the metadata.For instance, where a given subscriber's profile (or alternatively agroup's demographic profile) indicates that car chases and car-relatedsubjects are popular or particularly well received, the NOC may causethe content delivered to this subscriber (or group) to branch or skipover poorly correlated advertisements or portions of a stream to thosemore highly correlated.

It will be recognized that the aforementioned segmentation of contentneed not necessarily occur at a logical or other boundary, or on a“scene” basis. For example, segments may comprise short segments ofarbitrary or irregular length, such as sports “highlight” clips lasting10 seconds or so, or clips from live events such concerts, wherein asegment might comprise the live performance of a song, which canobviously vary in length from one song to another, or even oneperformance of the same song to another.

It will also be recognized that such metadata may be supplied by thesubscriber or user, such as in the form of user-specific“personalizations”; see, e.g., co-owned and co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/811,953 filed Jun. 11, 2007 entitled “METHODSAND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING VIRTUAL CONTENT OVER A NETWORK” (Attorneydocket No. TWAR.049A/TWC 06-16), which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety, for exemplary methods and apparatus formetadata insertion consistent with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

Network Costs—

As previously discussed, the “cost” of fulfilling a given programrequest may include the additional bandwidth required to service therequest. A different bandwidth cost may be associated with each segmentof the network. For example, when a CPE requests a VoD program locatedat a headend server (such as a VoD server 105), the cost associated withsetting up the session and resulting content flow includes the cost ofadding bandwidth between the headend and any intermediate hubs in thedelivery path, as well as another component of cost associated withallocating bandwidth on the coaxial part of the network from an edge QAMdevice to the requesting subscriber's CPE 106. For example, CPEconnected to the same hub may be able to share a program in the corenetwork and on the connection from hub to premises, but CPE on differenthubs may only be able to share a program at the core of the network (yetnot downstream from the hub).

Additional “costs” to the network may also include the provision orgeneration of details such as: (i) the bandwidth occupied by therequested content, (ii) whether the content is requested by anapplication for immediate viewing, or whether the content is requestedby an application for other purposes such as recording to a DVR, trickleor high-speed download, etc.; (iii) whether the program content isrequested on DOCSIS network QAMs or digital television QAMs, and (iv)other practical details related to establishing a program stream withinthe BSA architecture. Another example of a network resource that may beconsumed as a “cost” comprises the resources required to capturereal-time content from sources such as national feeds, third partycontent providers, etc.

So-called “opportunity costs” may also exist and need to be consideredin the evaluation of costs to the network for given delivery options.For example, if one option presents the MSO with an “either/or, but notboth” situation, selecting one option over another may involve the loss,or possibility of loss, of revenue or other benefits to the network thatmight otherwise have been received. As an illustration of thisprinciple, consider the logic described previously herein with respectto the example of FIGS. 3 and 3A; when bandwidth is constrained, and nonew VoD sessions can be created if a new BSA stream is instantiated,there is necessarily an opportunity cost for the loss of the VoD sessionthat could have otherwise been created.

In addition, real-time acquisition (RTA) costs associated with obtainingcontent streams (e.g., VoD streams) may exist for the MSO. These costscan be very significant, and generally are a function of the number ofstreams acquired.

It will be appreciated that in the context of the present invention, theimpact of “costs” accrued by the network during operation can to somedegree be mitigated through the use of timely clean-up or “reaping”processes. Such processes are well known in the art, and typicallycomputer programs or processes that are used to recover assets for otheruses when they are no longer required by the prior use. For example, onesuch reaping function comprises the broadcast switched architecture(BSA) controller function previously described, which in one variantswitches off channels being delivered over the BSA switch when they areno longer being watched by any subscriber within the designated servicegroup or area. This frees bandwidth for delivery of other channels oruses. Similarly, timely termination of a VOD session after completionfrees up bandwidth for other sessions or uses. Hence, by ensuring thatsuch reaping processes are employed effectively and aggressively, theMSO can avoid situations where costs associated with particular coursesof action are open-ended; i.e., the costs can be terminated promptlywhen there is no longer a need for the service associated with the cost.

As discussed earlier, the impact of additional CPE requesting contentfrom the network could comprise either a burden to the networkoperator's available resources, or no additional burden (such as wherethe program stream already exists). In terms of revenue or other derivedbenefit, the addition of a CPE content request might produce either somepositive benefit (such as e.g., increased advertising revenue) or noadditional benefit. The features and advantages of the present inventionare now explained further through use of an example based on these twonetwork factors (i.e., cost and benefit).

Many varying business models exist describing how a network operatorwill collect advertisement revenue based on the content watched bynetwork subscribers. For example, a so-called “flat rate” modeldescribes the situation where the operator obtains revenue from offeringprograms or advertisements regardless of how many subscribers watchwhich programs or advertisements, and when. Another business modelcomprises the operator making available targeted advertisement insertioncapability, such that the operator's revenue from targetedadvertisements increases when (more) subscribers watch a particularprogram.

Additionally, various service tiers or configurations may exists in anetwork, and users may be paying different subscription rate orper-program subscription fees depending on e.g., the variety ofdifferent ways to deliver the program including VoD, real time ortrickle-in, high definition (HD) or standard-definition (SD), commercialfree or not, PVR/DVR capability, and so forth.

Based on the foregoing, when a user requests to view a particularprogram, the network operator may be faced with determining the bestpossible way in which to satisfy the user request, while minimizingburdens on or costs to the network (and maximizing benefits to theoperator, such as revenue or profit).

Network Revenue Opportunities—

As previously described, the NOC process comprise algorithms that imposevarious rules in an attempt to optimize the net cost/benefit trade-offassociated with fulfilling a particular program viewing request (oralternatively, groups of requests considered collectively). On the“debit” side of this optimization process is the use of networkresources such as available bandwidth, switch capacity. On the “credit”side, the NOC process may attempt to maximize revenue potential (orprofit, which may or may not be associated with maximizing revenue) infulfilling the program viewing request. For example, some of the CPE 106in the network may be designated to receive targeted advertisements.Such CPE may additionally be classified in variousdemographic/psychographic segments of categories such as for examplebased on their spending abilities or income, particular actual orprojected preferences (e.g., sports, music, literature), historicaltuning habits, their subscription tier, geographic location, personalattributes (sex, age, race, etc.), available CPE hardware and softwaredetails (such as whether the CPE has multiple tuners, a hard drive, bothDOCSIS and in-band tuners, a DVR capability, etc.).

For example, when available network bandwidth is plentiful, the NOC mayimpose a rule that uses additional bandwidth to fulfill a programrequest from a subscriber (such as by instantiating a new programstream) because the individualized transmission to that subscriberresult in incremental revenue generation due to delivery of one ortargeted advertisements or content to one additional subscriber. Notethat as used in the present context, the term “targeted advertisement orcontent” includes without limitation both (i) advertisements or contentthat are particularly inserted based on the demographics/psychographicof that particular CPE/subscriber, and (ii) advertisements or contentthat are particularly targeted at a demographic/psychographic a priori,irrespective of whether a particular viewer or CPE is tuned to thatadvertisement or content. For instance, an MSO might obtain theaforementioned incremental revenue benefit because by creating a newprogram stream and inserting advertisements that are particularlyselected for the demographic associated with the requesting subscriber(e.g., advertisements for graphite golf clubs placed in the stream of awhite male over age 40 who watches the Golf Channel frequently), oralternatively by creating a new program stream with predeterminedadvertising that is not particularly selected for a givenCPE/subscriber, yet which matches the requesting CPE's subscriberdemographic anyway.

As network bandwidth utilization increases, and available bandwidth isat a premium, the same subscriber in the foregoing example might be madeto share the program transmission with another user, thereby savingnetwork bandwidth at the expense of foregoing additional targetedadvertisement revenue opportunity. For instance, the MSO (or NOC) mightdetermine that allocating the bandwidth saved by not instantiating thenew BSA stream and instead allocating it to a VoD session will produce agreater revenue.

Another example of revenue opportunity may be illustrated as follows.When a subscriber requests to watch a program, the NOC may offer thesubscriber a choice between broadcast version of the program, which thesubscriber will start watching from that time onwards, or a cachedversion of the program that may be viewed from the beginning (e.g., VoD)so that the user does not miss any part of the program. The latteroption may generate more revenue for the network operator.

Yet another example of network revenue opportunity includesopportunistically offering subscribers free previews of premiumprogramming, when such program is being carried on the network. Thisrevenue opportunity therefore has the potential of generating revenue bytempting the subscriber to upgrade to the higher service tier (orordering the previewed content on a situational basis, such as PPV)without expending any additional network resources. For instance, when ahigh definition (HD) program is currently available on the networkbecause it is being transmitted to a subscriber paying for the HDservice tier, a second subscriber requesting standard definition (SD)copy of the same program may be offered a promotional viewing of thatprogram in HD if the second subscriber's CPE supports HD reception.

Or, the MSO might decide to forego delivery of a second BSA stream withtargeted advertising for the requesting viewer in favor of using thatbandwidth to deliver promotional content (such as a new release orfirst-run movie only available on the premium service tier) in order toentice other subscribers into signing up for the premium service tier,while servicing the original subscriber's request with an alreadyinstantiated (albeit less “targeted”) BSA program stream.

Similarly, the MSO might decide to trade an HD program stream that hasbeen requested for use of the bandwidth for other purposes, and deliveran SD version of the requested program stream (or an “upconverted”version; see, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/881,034 entitled“METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMAT SELECTION FOR NETWORK OPTIMIZATION”,previously incorporated herein, for exemplary methods and apparatus fordetermining capability for and delivering “near HD” via upconversiontechnology). In one such variant, the NOC control logic is structured sothat the determination of upconversion capability in a given CPErequesting an HD stream is performed before making a bandwidthallocation decision; if the requesting CPE has upconversion capability,an SD version of the requested stream will be supplied, and the “saved”bandwidth that would have otherwise been used to instantiate an HDstream used for other revenue-enhancing purposes. In another variant,the NOC control logic is configured so that the decision to supply therequested HD format or SD instead is governed at least in part by thenumber of subscribers in the relevant service group (or other relevantsubportion of the network) requesting that same content and format. Forexample, where a request for HD comprises the first such request in theservice group, and the requesting CPE 106 has upconversion capability,then the NOC would decide not to instantiate a new HD stream, but rathertune the requesting CPE to an existing SD session (or instantiate an SDsession as needed). However, when several requests for the HD format ofthe program were received within the service group (and optionally oneor more of the requesters determined not to have upconversioncapability), then the NOC would create a new HD stream to service theserequests. Moreover, the methods described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/881,034 entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR FORMAT SELECTIONFOR NETWORK OPTIMIZATION”, previously incorporated herein, could beemployed if desired to consolidate viewers onto the newly instantiatedHD channel; i.e., by identifying viewers that have HD capability (i.e.,an HD receiver, and display), and then migrating them over to the new HDchannel from their extant SD channel. This latter approach allows, whenno further viewers are left on the SD channel, removal of that channel(and hence bandwidth conservation).

A network operator may add further revenue opportunities based on thebusiness goals and available network resources. Such additional revenueopportunities can be implemented for example using a rules-basedsoftware engine implemented in the NOC or at another node of the network(or even distributed across the network, e.g., in a plurality of linkedbut substantially autonomous processes), as described in greater detailbelow.

Exemplary Optimization Rules—

To further illustrate the various principles of the present invention, adetailed example of a rules-based optimization process that might beimplemented in an MSO network is now described.

Assume, for example, that establishing a new program flow within thenetwork costs C₁ dollars/Mbps when the network is less than 80%utilized, and 50% higher (i.e., 1.5C₁) when the network is above 80%utilized. Moreover, assume that SD programs are available at a 1 Mbpsbitrate, and HD programs are available at a 6 Mbps bitrate. Adding a newCPE 106 to an existing program stream costs a fixed cost F₀. Also,providing a unicast program with targeted advertisements inserted to apremium subscriber generates D₁ dollar revenue for the network operator.In addition, network costs are scaled by a factor of F₁ depending on thetime of the day—such that network bandwidth (and prospectively otherresources) becomes more expensive in prime-time compared to off-peakhours.

When a program viewing request is received, the NOC will use theexemplary optimization rule generally as follows:

-   -   1) Depending on the time of the day, determine whether to apply        factor F₁ or not;    -   2) Determine whether network utilization is above or below the        critical “threshold” (e.g., 80% in this example);    -   3) Determine if the program requested is SD or HD;    -   4) Determine if the request is made by a CPE in a premium        subscriber's premises (or one associated with another target        classification or tier); and    -   5) Select the option that optimizes cost/benefit for the MSO.

For example, assume that: (i) the cost of carriage is 1 cent/Mbps, (ii)the cost of tuning additional CPE to an ongoing program is F₀ or 0.5cents per CPE 106, (iii) revenue from targeted advertisement program is5 cents/program, and (iv) the multiplication factor F₁ described aboveis 1.2. If the network receives an HD program viewing request duringprime-time when network utilization is above 80%, the cost of fulfillingthe request by setting up a unicast transmission will be 6 (Mbps forHD)×1.5 (network utilization above 80%)×1 (cents per Mbps)×1.2(prime-time scale factor)=10.8 cents. The revenue from targetedadvertisement will be 5 cents, and hence the net cost/benefit is (+5cents−10.8 cents)=−5.8 cents. A second option will be for the networkoperator to make the requesting CPE join an ongoing flow of the sameprogram. In this case, the cost to the network will be 0.5 cents, butthere will be zero revenue potential because the network operator haslost the targeted advertisement potential. Hence, the net cost/benefitto the MSO would be (−0.5 cents+0 cents)=−0.5 cents. Therefore, in thisexample, the second option may be more desirable as it results in lessnet cost (only 0.5 for fulfilling the viewing request). Even if the lossof the targeted advertising revenue is viewed as an opportunity cost(i.e., net cost/benefit is (−0.5 cents−5 cents)=−5.5 cents), the secondoption is still preferable (−5.5 cents versus=5.8 cents).

If on the other hand, the above viewing request is received duringnon-prime time and when network bandwidth utilization is below 80%, thecost of setting up a new flow drop to 6.0 cents, but the revenuepotential will still be 5 cents (and a net cost of −1.0 cents), makingthis option much more attractive to fulfill the viewing request, sinceit is competitive with even the non-opportunity cost weightedalternative option described above.

FIG. 3C illustrates yet another exemplary embodiment of the methodologyof the present invention, incorporating various of the foregoingfeatures and aspects.

Exemplary Message Exchanges and Protocols—

To further illustrate the various principles of the present invention, adetailed example of message exchange that might be implemented in an MSOnetwork is now described. The exemplary message exchange may follow,inter alia, the SCTExxDVS629 standard, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. The SCTExxDVS629 is a standardized andextensible message based interface defining a minimal set of cooperatinglogical services necessary to communicate placement opportunities,placement decisions, and placement related event data necessary foraccountability measurements.

The SCTExxDVS629 standard comprises a minimal set of cooperative logicalservices needed to implement an advanced addressable advertising system.The logical services include Ad Management Service (ADM), Ad DecisionService (ADS), Content Information Service (CIS), Placement OpportunityInformation Service (POIS) and Subscriber Information Service (SIS).

The ADM defines messages in support of advertising (or promotional)insertion activities. The message interfaces exposed by an ADM allow forboth pre-configured advertising decisions as well as real-timefulfillment models. The ADM interfaces and messages are normativelydefined in Part 3 of the aforementioned SCTExxDVS629 standard.

The ADS determines how advertising content is combined withnon-advertising or non-promotional (e.g., entertainment) content assets.The decisions made by an ADS may be straightforward (i.e., specificadvertisement content placed at a specific time in a specific asset) orarbitrarily complex (based on subscriber data, advertising zone, etc.).The ADS interfaces and messages are normatively defined in Part 3 of theSCTExxDVS629 standard.

The CIS manages metadata describing all the assets (both advertisingassets and non-advertising assets) available to the other SCTExxDVS629logical services. The CIS does so by providing query and notificationinterfaces to the other logical services. The CIS specificationinterfaces and messages are normatively defined in Part 4 of theSCTExxDVS629 standard.

The POIS holds, maintains, or retains descriptions of placementopportunities. The POIS may also contain attributes and constraints foreach placement opportunity, platform compliance, rights, and policies ofthe content in which the placement opportunity exists. These placementopportunities are content specific, therefore attributes and constraintsmay vary by network, geographic region, or other content distributiondimension. The POIS is normatively defined in Part 5 of the SCTExxDVS629standard.

The Subscriber Information Service manages all the per-subscriberinformation relevant to advertisement placement decisions. The SISprovides mechanisms surrounding privacy issues. The SIS is normativelydefined in Part 6 of the SCTExxDVS629 standard.

FIG. 3D illustrates an exemplary configuration with a number ofvariations of deployment among the services listed above. In one case anADM is shown as a standalone service while in another an ADM and CIS arecombined into a single physical server. It is appreciated that manyother combinations, beyond the illustration given are possible. Allcommunication lines shown in the figure are message sequences defined bythe various parts of this standard and discussed in further detailbelow.

The SCTExxDVS629 further discusses core data types and extensiblemessage framework which form the vocabulary needed to communicate amongthe defined logical services described above. These data types andmessage structure do not depend on any domain type (VOD, Linear Cable,SDV, etc.) or on specific advanced advertising functions (session basedadvertising, subscriber addressing, etc.). Rather, they are defined bythe standard and are added as needed to address specific platforms andadvanced advertising functions. Thus, an XML stack will be comprised ofseveral layers including a Domain Specific Extension (DSE) detailingunambiguously which delivery platform is being utilized, such as VOD,linear cable, BSA, and advanced STB applications, etc. XML namespaceversioning is supported and detailed in Part 2 of the SCTExxDVS629standard. FIG. 3E illustrates generally the XML stack which iscommunicated among the logical services illustrated above.

All messages within the SCTExxDVS629 standard are defined as pairs—everymessage initiated by some logical system has a defined response. Themessages may be request/response messages, notification/acknowledgementmessages, service check messages, or service status messages. The XMLmessage elements share a common attribute definition (though individualmessages may contain additional attributes.

The exemplary XML messages of one embodiment are comprised of anAttribute Type, an Address Element, an AdType Element, an AssetRefElement, a Callout Element, a Content Element, a ContentDataModelElement, a ContentLocation Element, a CurrentDateTime Element, aDuration Element, an Ext Element, an ExternalStatusCode Element, a NoteElement, Program Element, a SegmentationUpid Element, a SpotRefStatusCode Element, a Tracking Element, and a URI Element.

FIG. 3F illustrates a typical sequence of message pairs used in theforegoing protocol. In the example, an ADS initiates the communicationby requesting to be registered to receive content notifications from aCIS. A logical service registers with some other service in order toestablish ongoing consumption of the service provided. A logical servicemay subsequently deregister to remove itself as a consumer. Next, theCIS sends a response message to the ADS accepting (or rejecting) therequest. The CIS then spontaneously sends notifications to the ADS aschanges to the specified content occur over time. The ADS acknowledgeseach of these notifications but neither system is required to maintainsynchronous threading of messages on the transport. All service messagesare request/response pairs. Once a service channel exists between twocomplimentary services request/response or notification/acknowledgmentexchanges can then occur per the defined interfaces.

Any logical service may issue a query to any other logical service atany time without previously registering to do so by sending a queryrequest message (which asks for information). The requested information(or an error status) is returned in a query response message. Further, alogical service may also send/receive service status messages whichto/from some other logical service with which it has previouslyregistered in the event of a change in ability to perform the registeredservice. Further, service check messages may be sent on an ad hoc basisto determine, inter alia the availability of the service.

Thus through the mechanism described above, exemplary messages useful inimplementing various functions of the present invention are exchanged.It will be appreciated, however, that various other methods or protocolsof message exchange may be implemented consistent with the presentinvention with equal success, those described herein being merelyexemplary of the broader principles.

In one variant of the invention, a placement request and placementresponse paradigm is used to provide separation between (i) theplacement opportunity, and (ii) the placement decision that applies tothat opportunity. In a typical transaction, one entity would generate arequest (e.g., based on an existing or planned placement opportunity),and transmit this request to a second entity (or second internal processwithin the same entity, such as the aforementioned NOC), the latterreceiving the request and evaluating it via e.g., decision logic oralgorithms as previously described) to determine the appropriatedecision. This decision may then be transmitted via the response to theoriginating entity, or another entity which (e.g., a proxy) which istasked with execution of the decision.

In one variant, the aforementioned process is useful especially wheninformation is not known until late in the content flow (such as in thecase of an on-demand delivery model). For example, in a VoD deliverycase, the aforementioned request/response exchange might occur during oras part of the session setup process.

The aforementioned approach also allows for preloading in at least threedifferent respects, namely: (i) preloading of the decision inanticipation of the stream being established, so as to obviate anydelays associated with obtaining or deriving the decision; (ii)preloading subscriber- and/or opportunity-related information (insteadof having to make a “late” binding, determining in advance when theremight be an opportunity available); and (iii) preloading orpre-scheduling applicable advertising or promotional content for thatopportunity in advance of delivery.

Various interactions between the ADM and other components of theadvertising or promotional subsystem of the invention are contemplated,including for example: (i) ADM/POIS; (ii) ADM/SIS; (iii) ADM/CIS; and(iv) ADM/ADS. Each of these exemplary interactions is described ingreater detail below.

ADM/POIS—In one embodiment, the ADM may utilize or consume “placementopportunity” information from the POIS specifically to identify rights(e.g., access) and particular advertising types as they may relate tocontent, platforms, behavior, or some other identifiable opportunity toplace an advertisement or other relevant content within a programstream. For instance, the ADM might request to know what types ofservices are available to it for a given opportunity or circumstance.

ADM/SIS—The ADM may also use or consume “subscriber” information to bestmatch advertising or promotional content to placement opportunitiesbased on events that may occur in the network. It may also send thisinformation to an ADS to allow the ADS to make a more informed decision.

ADM/CIS—The ADM may also use consume “content” information to discoverthe presence and character of the content, as well as metadata that maydescribe it, so to best be able to fulfill decisions.

ADM/ADS—The ADM may take all the above information (i.e., when theopportunity exists, the content exists, the “addressability” from theSIS exists) and send that information to an ADS which may provide a“decision” that best matches MSO objectives (such as in accordance withan advertising or promotional campaign, MSO policy, rules engine, etc.).

Advertising Insertion Techniques—

In content-based networks such as cable television networks,advertisements (including without limitation promotions, commercials,and short segments) that are viewed by subscribers can be controlled inseveral ways. Generally, two categories or subdivisions of thesetechniques exist: (i) national- or high-level insertion, and (ii) local-or low-level insertion.

Under national level insertion, national networks (such as NBC, ABC,etc.) are responsible for determining the advertisements or promotionsthat are resident in a given program stream. The pre-configured streamis delivered to the network operator (e.g., MSO), and the MSO merelythen delivers the stream (content and advertisements) to the relevantsubscribers over their network.

Under local-level insertion, the MSO (and even broadcast affiliates) caninsert locally-generated advertisements or commercials and other suchsegments into remotely distributed regional programs before they aredelivered to the network subscribers.

In terms of technology, three primary variants of advertisementinsertion technologies exist: (i) analog; (ii) hybrid analog/digital;and (iii) digital.

Under the analog approach, programs are distributed as NTSC video andinclude analog cues (tones) to the MSO that signal the local operator toreplace the national-level advertisements with locally-generated ones.Insertion equipment includes so-called ad-splicers and storage devicesthat is typically maintained in the MSO headend or other location. Theseanalog systems, however, have limited capability and do not supportadvanced functionality such as detecting a program change (e.g.,situations where the advertisement lineup should or could be changed dueto a change in the content broadcast schedule, such as where achampionship sporting event runs into overtime). Moreover, analogsystems make targeted/addressable advertising insertion difficult if notimpossible.

Under the hybrid approach, advertisements are stored in a digitallycompressed or encoded format, e.g., MPEG-2, in local storage. Both thesource (network) feed to the headend and the subscriber delivery channelcan be either analog or digital. If the network feed is analog, embeddedcue-tones are used to cue retrieval and conversion of the digitaladvertisement to analog. An analog splicer switches input from thenetwork feed to the converted local advertisement. When completed, thesplicer switches the input back to the network feed.

The analog output of the splicer is encoded to a digital format in thecase that the delivery channel to the subscriber is digital. If thechannel is digital, the analog output of the splicer is digitallyencoded. If the network feed and subscriber delivery channel are bothdigital, both the program network feed and the advertisement areconverted into analog prior to insertion of the advertisement. Theanalog content is then encoded back to digital before delivery to thesubscriber. Unfortunately, the aforementioned conversion from digital toanalog, and then back to digital, requires a high processing overheadand cost, and may significantly degrade video quality since theconversions are at least partly “lossy” in nature.

Under the fully digital approach, many of the aforementioned limitationsare overcome. Several standards have been developed to implement suchdigital techniques, including SCTE 35 2001 (formerly DVS253), “DigitalProgram Insertion Cueing Message for Cable”, and SCTE 30 2001 (formerlyDVS380), “Digital Program Insertion Splicing API”. These standardsdefine splicing of MPEG-2 streams for digital content insertion(including advertisements), and create standardized communicationprotocols for the insertion of content into any MPEG-2 output multiplexin the splicer.

By keeping the process of local advertisement insertion completelywithin the digital compressed domain, as well as keeping this content inthe compressed domain from the network operator to the subscribers, thequality of the network-supplied video and advertisements is maintainedeffectively intact.

Advantageously, the present invention can be used with any number ofdifferent advertising insertion or splicer architectures. See, forexample, co-pending and co-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/662,776 filed Sep. 15, 2003 entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORADVERTISEMENT DELIVERY WITHIN A VIDEO TIME SHIFTING ARCHITECTURE”(published as patent publication No. 20050060745 on Mar. 17, 2005),which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, for exemplaryadvertising insertion and splicer apparatus and methods in the contextof, e.g., networked digital video recorder (NDVR) or VoD deliveryparadigms.

In one variant, advertising insertion is accomplished by routing thenetwork feed through a splicer. The splicer may be used to createmultiple output versions of the network feed for a current advertisingzone structure (e.g., CNN_Boulder, CNN_Denver). When an SCTE 35 cueenters the splicer on the network feed, the splicer generates a cuerequest to the advertising server management section (here, whichincludes the APCSM 401). The advertising server management sectiondetermines which advertisement or promotion to play, according to aschedule, as previously discussed. The advertising server managementsection then instructs the splicer to splice a content stream, andinstructs a content server to play the selected advertisement orpromotion at the designated time according to the schedule.

It will be appreciated that using this approach has several potentialshortcoming relating to large numbers of streams and BSA “microcasts” asdescribed herein including: (i) the extra copies of networks feeds arevery static and there is no easy way to create or destroy them in thismodel; (ii) advertising splicers are relatively expensive to implement,at roughly $250-$500 per stream; and (iii) there is a critical timingissue between the advertising content streamer and the splicer.

In the context of an exemplary nPVR (network personal video recorder)VoD architecture that implements splicing, the networks are run througha statistical multiplexer (stat-mux) splicer for two reasons: (i) byalways splicing in a default advertisement, a “splice point” is insertedin the compressed MPEG stream and this makes it trivial to split thecontent at the correct point; and (ii) the stat-mux clamps or adjuststhe input feed to VoD encoding standards. The networks are fed to theVoD server (optionally through a device that splits the content intochapters and advertisements). The VoD server treats the input stream asa file once ingested (and may or may not be stored depending on thecurrent acquisition rules for the program).

When a user (or the server in advance of a user request) requires astream, a “session” is first set up. The difference between this sessionand a normal unicast on-demand session is that this session is assigneda multicast IP. The multicast IP allows many edge QAMs to join thestream versus directing the stream directly to an edge QAM in unicast IPmode. This session basically is a minimal delay “StartOver” session,essentially passing the real-time network feed through the VoD server.When an SCTE 35 cue is seen on the RTA input section, an SCTE 30 cue issent to the advertising manager (ADM), which may incorporate the APCSM401 described previously herein. As is well known, the ADM can beimplemented externally to the VoD server, or internally to the VoDserver. If located internal to the VoD server, the SCTE 30 message isnot needed.

The ADM then selects an advertisement or promotion to play. In the caseof the aforementioned BSA network (FIG. 1 c) a DVS/629 or similarmechanism can be used to request a real-time match as to the best assetto play at this instant. This can be based e.g., on the number ofviewers, demographics, geographics, psychographics, or whatever otherinformation is available on the user or group of users that this feed isbeing delivered to, as previously described herein. The ADM theninstructs the VoD server the name of the selected advertising orpromotional content element to splice in. When the VoD server detectsthe appropriate splice point, timed by the SCTE 35 cue and thepreviously inserted default advertisement, it performs a playlistdiversion between the RTA content and the selected content element.After the advertisement or promotion content finishes, the VoD serverplaylist diverts back to the RTA stream.

The use of a VOD server that performs network PVR as described hereincan advantageously address the previously listed shortcomings (i)-(iii).Specifically, (i) VOD servers are specially designed to create anddestroy sessions on a regular (and instantaneous) basis, and henceprovide enhanced flexibility regarding setup and destruction; (ii) VODstreams presently cost on the order of $50 to acquire (as opposed to$250-$500 in the previously described approach); and (iii) the VODserver can maintain a locally stored or cached advertisement orpromotion for ready recall, and can read directly from its content storewhen the data is needed so as to avoid any critical timing issues.Accordingly, the VOD server can handle many more streams than canliterally racks of external splicers and content servers. Stated simply,using the VOD server as a splicer/stream generator for multicast feedshelps afford a highly economical hardware model for the implementationof BSA microcasting. While the aforementioned “dedicated” splicerapproach may be used consistent with the invention, the repurposing ofVOD assets provides a less complex and more elegant solution, andreduces RTA costs significantly.

Software Architecture—

Referring now to FIGS. 4A-4D, exemplary embodiments of the softwarearchitecture useful with the present invention are described in detail.It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill that while fourexemplary embodiments are described herein, other variations andcombinations of the following architectures may be utilized depending onthe desired attributes and network topology in use.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a first embodiment of the architecture comprises anetwork portion 402 of the NOC, which effectively functions as asupervisory process, and is in logical communication with a database406, as well as other network equipment and processes (not shown) inorder to effectuate the NOC process methods and policies as previouslydescribed. For example, in one variant, the NOC network portion 402 isin direct or indirect communication with a BSA switching hub process(not shown) in order to implement program allocation policies. Theaforementioned network portion 402 may for example be combined withother network management entities (such as the entity 198 of FIG. 1Cpreviously described), or may be stand-alone in nature.

As shown in FIG. 4A, not all “subnetworks” in the network need beincluded within the purview of the NOC 402; rather, the methodologiespreviously described may be implemented on a per-subnetwork (orper-node) basis if desired, although clearly the entire network can beincluded as well.

It is noted that in the embodiment of FIG. 4A, no dedicated clientprocesses or portions (e.g., CPE software) are used; the NOC process 402analyzes data it obtains from the database 406 (or other such sources)in order to derive its channel or program instantiation and bandwidthallocation policies. For instance, the NOC 402 may access the database406 in order to determine a demographic/psychographic profile,historical tuning habits, codec capabilities, etc. for each CPE 106 ofinterest. The BSA server logs that are based on the client-serverinteractions as previously described may also be utilized for e.g.,determination of a “predictive” program lineup for that node and/orestimation of predicted demand (see, e.g., co-owned and co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/800,093 entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSFOR PREDICTIVE CAPACITY ALLOCATION” filed May 3, 2007, and Ser. No.11/243,720 entitled “SELF-MONITORING AND OPTIMIZING NETWORK APPARATUSAND METHODS” filed Oct. 4, 2005, each of the foregoing incorporated byreference herein in its entirety), or even indirect assessment of CPEconfiguration as described elsewhere herein. Hence, the foregoingmethods can also advantageously be implemented in a predictive or“look-ahead” fashion, both in terms of what a given subscriber (or groupof subscribers) may request in terms of programming, as well as futureprojected bandwidth demands and constraints (e.g., as a function of timeof day, day of the year, and so forth).

As shown in FIG. 4B, a second embodiment of the software architecturecomprises a plurality of NOC network portions 402 a, 402 b, in thisexample disposed at the headend 150 and one or more hubs of the network,respectively. The various network portions 402 a, 402 b are in logicalcommunication with one another (or at least the hub portions 402 b withthe headend portion 402 a), thereby allowing for sharing of information.The aforementioned database 406 may also be used to provide informationrelating to subscriber profile and demographics/psychographics, CPEconfiguration, etc. as in the embodiment of FIG. 4A, thereby obviatingthe use of client portions within the network. Use of hub networkportions 402 b as illustrated also allows for a finer level of control;i.e., each hub process 402 b can in one variant control programinstantiation and bandwidth allocation in a substantially autonomousfashion from other hubs if desired. This is to be distinguished from theembodiment of FIG. 4A, wherein the hubs, while in one embodiment incommunication with the headend process 402 a, have no real innate“intelligence” of their own with respect to implementation of theprogram instantiation and bandwidth allocation methodologies previouslydescribed. Rather, the hubs (and other device) of the embodiment of FIG.4A act merely as slaves to implement headend process policies ordirectives.

Moreover, in the event of a failure or problem with the headend NOCportion 402 a, the individual hub portions 402 b can continue to operate(and optionally communicate with one another directly), therebyproviding a degree of fault tolerance and redundancy. To this extent, itwill be recognized that another variant of the invention utilizes onlythe hub portions 402 b (i.e., without the headend portion 402 a) in thisfashion, with either local individual databases, or logical connectiondirectly to the “master” database 406 (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 4C, yet another embodiment of the software architectureof the invention comprises a headend NOC portion or process 402 a inlogical communication with client (e.g., CPE) portions 404 disposed onall or a subset of the CPE within the network. Such subsets may beorganized based on subnetwork/node as shown, or using another scheme.These client portions 404 act as remote proxies for the headend NOCprocess 402 a, allowing the MSO to control at least aspects of theoperation of the CPE 106 having such client portions 404, includingnotably the collection of CPE configuration information, as well ashistorical data and tuning information from the CPE. This approach hasthe advantage that the MSO can gather much more accurate and relevantinformation about an individual CPE, including the operation thereofover time. For example, the headend NOC process 402 a can periodicallypoll the client portions to determine operational status, what channelis currently being tuned to, recent errors that have been logged (e.g.,inability to play a certain format of content, resource contention,etc.), and even invoke corrective action if desired. For instance, suchcorrective action might constitute download of a new codec or driver,and/or destruction of an existing application on the CPE. Modificationsor upgrades to the middleware or monitor application can also beperformed based on data gleaned from particular CPE. The client portion404 can also be used to generate notifications, interactive displays orqueries on the user's display device or other output device aspreviously described (e.g., delay notification, request for inputregarding optimization/program selection options, etc.). Hence, theclient portion 404 of FIG. 4C provides the MSO with a “point ofpresence” within each CPE as well.

Referring now to FIG. 4D, yet another embodiment of the softwarearchitecture is disclosed, wherein both client portions 404 andheadend/hub network portions 402 a, 402 b are utilized. This hybridapproach provides essentially all of the benefits of the embodiments ofFIGS. 4B and 4C previously described, yet at the price of somewhatgreater complexity.

It will be recognized that in certain implementations of the NOC (andother) software processes described above, there is a finite processingtime required to process relevant information in order to provide therequisite output (e.g., selection of a particular option, cost/benefitmetrics, etc.). Moreover, accessing relevant demographic, CPEconfiguration, or other such data will also consume a certain amount oftime and processing overhead. However, there is also a desire by thenetwork operator to mitigate any discontinuities or latencies associatedwith servicing subscriber requests, and hence a tension betweenservicing the request immediately and performing sufficiently detailedevaluation of the different options so as to make the implementedoption(s) as effective as possible from a cost/benefit perspective.

Accordingly, in one variant of the invention, an artificial switchinglatency is imposed by the NOC so as to in effect give the NOC processingtime to “catch up”. For example, instead of an instantaneous switchoccurring upon a user service request, a slightly delayed switch isused, with the user being visually (and/or audibly) alerted that theirrequest has been received and is being processed, such as viapresentation of an icon (e.g., hourglass or the like) on the on-screendisplay. The previous displayed content continues during this intervalas well. When the NOC processing has been completed, the selected optionis implemented such as by tuning to a new QAM, and the user's servicerequest for new content satisfied.

In another alternative, a non-NOC based selection and switching logiccan be employed initially upon receiving the user's request, and thenthe NOC-generated selection imposed thereafter. For example, under atraditional BSA switching model, the user's request for a switched-inchannel (i.e., one being watched by another subscriber in the servicegroup) would be satisfied by tuning the requesting subscriber to thatexisting channel, irrespective of any demographics, cost/benefit, etc.Alternatively, if no stream was currently being delivered (no on elsewatching), the stream would be instantaneously switched on, with littleif any perceptible latency. Hence, under the current embodiment, thissame conventional switching logic would be applied initially, until theNOC generated its selection output. At that point (say, for example oneor two seconds after the initial request was serviced), if a change wasrequired, then the change, e.g., switch to a newly instantiated“targeted” stream or the like, could be applied with little if anyperceptible transient.

As yet another alternative, a pre-fetch mechanism of the type well knownin the digital processor arts can be employed, such as whereconfiguration, demographic, etc. data associated with a given CPE 106can be fetched and locally cached in advance of an impending channelchange request. For example, where a user has recently been “channelhopping”, it is a reasonably safe bet from a statistical perspectivethat this behavior may continue. Accordingly, the aforementioned datanecessary for the NOC to perform its evaluation and selection may befetched and cached for a period of time (or until another event occursallowing de-caching, such as a power-off event or the like), so as toexpedite the NOC calculations. Such pre-fetch can be accomplishedaccording to any number of different deterministic or speculativemodels, including for example: (i) recent historical tuning habits forthat CPE; (ii) longer-term historical tuning habits (e.g., thesubscriber almost always tunes to watch “24” on Fox every Monday nightat 9:00 pm local time); (iii) anecdotal or event basis (such as wherefor example the CPE configuration data and subscriber demographic datais cached at a local NOC process upon power-up of the CPE, therebyindicating prospective user activity); (iv) periodic basis (e.g., suchas where updated configuration and/or demographic data is periodicallycached to replace older data, such as according to a schedule); or (v)on a statistical basis, such as with no prior knowledge of thatparticular CPE per se, but rather based on statistics for the requestingCPE's service group, hub, or greater network as a whole). Myriad otherpre-fetch schemes will be recognized by those of ordinary skill providedthe present disclosure.

Moreover, the physical configuration of the network can exploited so asto reduce NOC processing latency. For example, as discussed above withrespect to FIGS. 4A-4D, a local NOC process (e.g., 402 b in FIG. 4B) canmaintain its own cache and database, thereby reducing the time anddistance necessary to access relevant information. This approach alsoplaces the NOC closer to the relevant CPE within the network, alsoreducing intra-device communication latency should such communicationsbe required (such as for an updated configuration profile).

In addition, pre-processing of data or content can be utilized withinthe network so as to reduce latency. In one embodiment, data relating toone or more subscribers of the network that is maintained (e.g., in asubscriber database, historical database for tuning activity, etc.) isaccessed and pre-processed. For instance, in one variant, all orportions of the aforementioned cost-benefit calculations can beperformed before an actual content request is received. Under oneapproach, the NOC algorithm performs a “tree” analysis for each of aplurality of possible options or scenarios that might occur from a givendecision point. As an illustration, consider the case where a singleuser in a BSA network tunes to a program channel, and the NOC is facedwith the decision whether to instantiate a new stream with targetedadvertising for that particular user, or alternatively direct the userto an existing channel (ostensibly with less targeted advertising), anduse the conserved bandwidth for another use such as one or more VoDsessions. The cost/benefit calculations associated with at least the VoDoption can be performed by the NOC before the user tunes to thatparticular channel, and cached.

In another variant, the “targeted” advertising used for a particularsubscriber or group of subscribers can be selected based on subscriberdemographic or psychographic data (e.g., from a subscriber profile ordatabase). For instance, demographic data for a subscriber can beevaluated and searched or compared against metadata associated withdifferent advertising or promotional options, so as to select one or aplurality of candidates for use for that subscriber if/when a targetedstream (e.g., BSA stream, or VoD session) is instantiated in the future.This can be performed in advance of the subscriber ever requestingdelivery of any content.

Bandwidth contention or restriction situations can also bepre-calculated to some degree. For example, various options for handlingsuch situations can be considered, and some metric or indicia of therelative cost/benefit generated and cached for use by the NOC.

Pre-processing can also be performed according to an “intelligent”schedule; e.g., based on direct or indirect information regarding thesubscriber's viewing habits. For example, it may be known that a givensubscriber almost never watches television after 1:30 am on any givenday of the week (e.g., by seeing zero tuning activity after that timehistorically, by a power-down status indication from the subscriber'sCPE, etc.). Hence, the NOC can cease performing (and caching) anymatches or results for that subscriber after 1:30 am, and devote itselfto more relevant tasks. Similarly, when that subscriber is watching aVoD session, any BSA or other calculations are obviated, since itassumed that the subscriber will complete the VoD session. It will beappreciated that adherence to these rules need not be absolute; i.e.,the NOC can speculate. So long as it is correct in its speculation(“hit”) more often than not (“miss”), there is benefit to the system.

Hence, the present invention can make use of select pre-processing ofvarious calculations (or portions of calculations) and/or caching ofresults in order to mitigate any latency in the selection and deliveryprocess.

Network Device—

Referring now to FIG. 5, one embodiment of an improved network (e.g.,control server) device with NOC optimization capability according to thepresent invention is described. As shown in FIG. 5, the device 501generally comprises and OpenCable-compliant BSA network server orcontroller module adapted for use at the hub site of FIG. 1C, althoughthe server may comprise other types of devices (e.g., VoD or applicationservers, SRM or other supervisory processes, etc.) within the network aspreviously described, including those at the headend 150.

The device 501 comprises a digital processor(s) 504, storage device 506,and a plurality of interfaces 507 for use with other network apparatussuch as RF combiners, IP routers and other packet network devices,network management and provisioning systems, local PCs, etc. Othercomponents which may be utilized within the network device 501 includeamplifiers, board level electronic components, as well as mediaprocessors and other specialized SoC or ASIC devices. Support forvarious processing layers and protocols (e.g., 802.3, DOCSIS MAC, OOBchannels, DHCP, SNMP, H.323/RTP/RTCP, VoIP, SIP, etc.) may also beprovided as required, such as in support of data and “rules” interchangebetween the network device 501 and the CPE. The NOC process software(e.g., the hub portion 402 b of FIGS. 4A-4D) is also disposed to run onthe server module 501, and can be configured to provide a functionalinterface with the headend and/or client processes 402 a, 404 on thenetwork CPE 106 (where used), or other interposed or remote entities.These components and functionalities are well known to those of ordinaryskill in the cable and embedded system fields, and accordingly notdescribed further herein.

The device 501 of FIG. 5 may take any number of physical forms,comprising for example one of a plurality of discrete modules or cardswithin a larger network edge or hub device of the type well known in theart. The server may also comprise firmware, either alone or incombination with other hardware/software components such as thosepreviously described (e.g., disposed in the aforementioned edge device).Alternatively, the device 501 may be a stand-alone device or moduledisposed at the hub or other site, and may even include its own RF frontend (e.g., modulators, encryptors, etc.) or optical interface so as tointerface directly with various portions of the HFC network 101.Numerous other configurations may be used. The device 501 may also beintegrated with other types of components (such as satellitetransceivers, encoders/decoders, etc.) and form factors if desired.

It can also be appreciated that the methods of the present invention maybe practiced using any configuration or combination of hardware,firmware, or software, and may be disposed within one or any number ofdifferent physical or logical entities. For example, the formatevaluation and selection functionality described above may take the formof one or more computer programs (e.g., the network and clientprocesses, 402, 404). Alternatively, such computer programs may have oneor more components distributed across various hardware environments atthe same or different locations, such as where the network process 402is distributed across multiple platforms at the hub site and the headend150 as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D.

As yet another example, portions of the functionality may be rendered asa dedicated or application specific IC having code running thereon.Myriad different configurations for practicing the invention will berecognized by those of ordinary skill in the network arts provided thepresent disclosure.

CPE—

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the improved CPE 106according to the present invention. As shown in the simplified diagramof FIG. 6, the device 106 generally comprises and OpenCable(OCAP)-compliant embedded system having an RF front end 602 (includingtuner and demodulator/decryptors) for interface with the HFC network 101of FIGS. 1-1C, digital processor(s) 604, storage device 606, and aplurality of interfaces 608 (e.g., video/audio interfaces, IEEE-1394“Firewire”, USB, serial/parallel ports, etc.) for interface with otherend-user apparatus such as televisions, personal electronics, computers,WiFi or other network hubs/routers, etc. Other components which may beutilized within the device (deleted from FIG. 6 for simplicity) variousprocessing layers (e.g., DOCSIS MAC or DAVIC OOB channel, MPEG, etc.) aswell as media processors and other specialized SoC or ASIC devices. TheCPE 106 may also comprise an integrated HD decoder, thereby relievingany connected monitors or other devices from the requirement of havingsuch a decoder. These additional components and functionality are wellknown to those of ordinary skill in the cable and embedded systemfields, and accordingly not described further herein.

The CPE 106 of FIG. 6 is also provided with an OCAP 1.0-compliantapplication and Java-based middleware which, inter alia, manages theoperation of the device and applications running thereon (including theclient process 404 where used). It will be recognized by those ofordinary skill that myriad different device and software architecturesmay be used consistent with the tuning functions of the presentinvention, the device of FIG. 6 being merely exemplary. For example,different middleware (e.g., MHP, ARIB, or ACAP) may be used in place ofthe OCAP middleware of the illustrated embodiment.

The exemplary CPE 106 further comprises a conventional “Watch TV”application or the like, which services those program or user channelsavailable over the network. The Watch TV application, residing inmemory, provides such functions as channel navigation control, channelselection in response to a channel change event, etc. In one embodiment,the Watch TV (or EPG) application further comprises all necessaryfunctionality need to support the client process 404.

In another embodiment, the CPE 106 comprises a converged premisesdevice, such as for example that described in co-owned and co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/378,129 filed Mar. 16, 2006 andentitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CENTRALIZED CONTENT AND DATADELIVERY”, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Moreover, the foregoing embodiments of the CPE 106 may utilize anynumber of other methods and apparatus in conjunction with thefunctionality previously described herein in order to further extend itscapabilities. See, e.g., co-owned and co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/723,959 filed Nov. 24, 2003 entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSFOR HARDWARE REGISTRATION IN A NETWORK DEVICE”; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/773,664 filed Feb. 6, 2004 entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSFOR DISPLAY ELEMENT MANAGEMENT IN AN INFORMATION NETWORK”, and U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/782,680 filed Feb. 18, 2004 entitled“MEDIA EXTENSION APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR USE IN AN INFORMATIONNETWORK”, each of the foregoing incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. Myriad other combinations and variations of the CPE 106 willalso be recognized by those of ordinary skill given the presentdisclosure.

The exemplary CPE 106 may further comprise its own indigenousoptimization application, which allows a user to manage his optimizationrelated preferences and selections, especially with respect to actualmonetary cost incurred by his/her viewing habits and selections. Suchmanagement includes, but is not limited to, the ability to view costoptimization options to fulfill a program viewing request, and theability to select from among these options. For example, theaforementioned CPE application program may, upon instantiation of a GUI(e.g., an on-screen display window with menu, as previously described),allow the window to display the relative costs of the differentdisplayed options in relation to that particular subscriber's monthlybill or other useful metric. One such menu or display might advise theuser that selection of an existing HD or SD channel will add noadditional cost, whereas selection of a “PVR” or time-delayed version sothat the user can view it in its entirety will add X dollars to theirbill.

Also, as previously discussed, the CPE application program may allow theuser to submit preferences regarding shaping or targeting their programspace when such an option is selected.

Business Methods and “Rules” Engine—

In another aspect of the invention, the aforementioned NOC process 402(e.g., rendered as one or more computer programs) optionally includes anoperations and/or business rules engine. This engine comprises, in anexemplary embodiment, a series of software routines running on thenetwork device 501 of FIG. 5 or other associated hardware/firmwareenvironment that are adapted to control the operation of theoptimization algorithms previously described. These rules may also befully integrated within the NOC process 402 itself, and controlled viae.g., a GUI on a PC connected to the network device 501. In effect, therules engine comprises a supervisory entity which monitors andselectively controls, via the NOC process 402 and/or CPE process 404,the network optimization functions at a higher level, so as to implementdesired operational or business rules.

The rules engine can be considered an overlay of sorts to the algorithmsof the NOC 402 previously described. For example, the NOC process 402may invoke certain operational protocols or decision processes based ondata received from the CPE 106 (e.g., historical activity data, CPEconfiguration, logged errors, etc.), as well as network operational orhistorical data, demographic data, geographic data, etc. However, theseprocesses may not always be compatible with higher-level business oroperational goals, such as maximizing profit on a network-wide basis (orafter consideration of other factors not input to the NOC optimizationalgorithms, such as taxes, maintenance or repair costs, additionalequipment leasing or use costs, etc.), or system reliability and/orflexibility. Moreover, the NOC may be operating on a per-CPE orper-request basis (i.e., evaluating each individual request effectivelyin isolation, and generating a decision or recommendation withoutconsidering larger patterns or decisions being made in the service groupor network as a whole).

Hence, when imposed, the business/operational rules can be used todynamically (or manually) control the operation of the NOC process 402(and/or client process 404), in conjunction with the operational“recommendations” generated by the NOC 402 as part of its optimizationfunctions previously described.

For example, one rule implemented by the rules engine may compriseselectively servicing (or at least queuing first) requests from certainusers first; e.g., those with a higher subscription priority or levelunder bandwidth-limited cases, and only after this tier of users issatisfied, servicing any remaining content requests. In one variant,subscribers are divided into tiers (a hierarchy), and certain tiers ofthe hierarchy are serviced to a prescribed level first. For instance,one rule might impose a requirement that all “premium” subscribers havetheir HD program requests serviced before lower-tier subscribers; i.e.,selectively skewing bandwidth allocation toward the premium subscribersso long as it would not prevent lower tier subscribers from receiving atleast say SD-level service, or service at a prescribed minimum bitrate.

Another rule might allow for the relegation of low-priority requests tothe back of the service queue; e.g., those associated with subscriberswho have elected to receive content on a less-than-timely or delayedbasis (perhaps in exchange for financial or other considerations). Suchsubscribers effectively do not care when they receive the content(within certain constraints, obviously), and hence the MSO canprioritize other requests first.

Similarly, capacity (e.g., bandwidth) for servicing requests can beallocated to those users which, e.g., based on demographics, historicalpatterns, geographic area, etc. will make best use of the bandwidth interms of monetary return, profit, or some other business performancemetric. For example, the MSO might invoke a business rule thatselectively services requests for the best or most lucrative zip codes(or demographic slices) first, irrespective of the decision made by theNOC as to cost/benefit optimization. Such identification of certain zipcodes can be performed using, inter alia, the methods and apparatus setforth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/186,452 entitled “METHODAND APPARATUS FOR BOUNDARY-BASED NETWORK OPERATION”, previouslyreferenced and incorporated herein.

For example, in one variant, the rules engine is used to artificiallyadd or remove constraints from the decision-making logic of the NOC. Aspreviously noted with respect to FIG. 3, the presence of a bandwidth orother operational constraint may affect the NOC decision logic; e.g.,the revenue calculations may be skewed if a lost opportunity cost (suchas a VoD session that could have been instantiated but was not due toconstrained bandwidth) is not considered. However, it may be that forthe target zip code or demographic of interest, VoD produces nosignificant additional revenue, and hence the aforementioned decisionprocess would be flawed if VoD opportunity costs were considered. Hence,the rules engine would selectively mask or disable VoD revenue input, oralternatively designate bandwidth as “not constrained”, thereby removingthis factor from the equation.

As another example, the failure of a network component, or loss of acontent source, might render certain options unachievable (or at leastundesirable due to factors such as high cost burden, high deliverylatency, poor video quality, etc.). Hence, the rules engine can in suchcases be used to mask the affected options or inputs to the NOCalgorithm during the affected periods of time.

It will also be appreciated that the decisions generated by the NOCcost/benefit analysis can be manually or semi-manually utilized bynetwork operators, such as in the form of a recommendation rather than ahard and fast decision point. For instance, the NOC may present arecommended choice or bandwidth allocation to a human operator, therebyletting the operator decide whether to implement it. This variant of theinvention allows for the intangible but often important “gut feeling” orintrinsic knowledge of the operator to be factored into the decisionprocess. The operator may also be able to identify trends or patterns innetwork operation that the NOC or rules engine cannot, such as thetopical popularity of a given program (e.g., American Idol), in effectallowing the operator to override the NOC when his/her knowledge orintuition says that a different course should be followed.

Many other approaches and combinations are envisaged consistent with theinvention, as will be recognized by those of ordinary skill whenprovided this disclosure. An example is the application of businessrules based on content or content-provider related metrics versus thoseof the subscriber. For example, prioritization or servicing of certainrequests might be based on one or more features or attributes of thecontent that is requested (i.e., the genre or type of movie, studio orsource identity, actors, subject matter, presence or absence of metadatadescribing bandwidth profile of the content, etc.) as opposed to purelybased on required bandwidth and/or revenue/cost. For example, in theaforementioned case of “American Idol”, cost/benefit analysis by the NOCmay indicate that new requests should result in new targeted streamsbeing created, since the demographics associated with the individual CPEgenerating these requests are quite disparate. However, since mostwatchers of this program may in reality share a common demographic(e.g., mostly younger than age 35 and mostly female) despite what theirsubscriber registration accounts or CPE tuning habits say, creation ofnew streams would incrementally add little or nothing to increasedrevenue, and hence use of a common stream for all would detract verylittle from revenue.

Enforcement of the foregoing business rules may be executed by serversor other devices separately for each service (e.g. BSA or VoD) orcentrally via the controlling actions of a master NOC, SRM (Session andResource Manager) or other network agent.

In one embodiment, advertisers or even content providers (e.g., studios,networks, etc.) would pay a premium or provide other incentives to theMSO to have particular advertisements or content prioritized over otherstargeted to the same demographic. For example, where a targeted streamis instantiated, the MSO may program its rules engine to select the morelucrative of various advertiser's content (i.e., the one for which theyreceive greater payment or other consideration for using).

Similarly, a more incremental approach can be applied, such as wherevarious advertisements or content are “graded” based on profit/revenueand/or operational considerations (i.e., those which earn most and/orgive highest user satisfaction, etc. receive a higher grade), and thebitrate allocated based on such grade(s).

It will be recognized that while certain aspects of the invention aredescribed in terms of a specific sequence of steps of a method, thesedescriptions are only illustrative of the broader methods of theinvention, and may be modified as required by the particularapplication. Certain steps may be rendered unnecessary or optional undercertain circumstances. Additionally, certain steps or functionality maybe added to the disclosed embodiments, or the order of performance oftwo or more steps permuted. All such variations are considered to beencompassed within the invention disclosed and claimed herein.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features of the invention as applied to various embodiments,it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changesin the form and details of the device or process illustrated may be madeby those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. Thisdescription is in no way meant to be limiting, but rather should betaken as illustrative of the general principles of the invention. Thescope of the invention should be determined with reference to theclaims.

What is claimed is: 1.-41. (canceled)
 42. A method of operating acontent delivery network having a plurality of consumer premisesequipment (CPE) associated therewith, said method comprising: receivinga request for program delivery from one of said plurality of CPE;evaluating at least two possible delivery options for servicing saidrequest, said act of evaluating being performed based on: at least oneoperational consideration of said network; and a historical pattern ofbandwidth use of said one of said plurality of CPE; and based at leastin part on said act of evaluating, performing one of said at least twopossible delivery options in order to service said request.
 43. Themethod of claim 42, wherein said historical pattern of bandwidth use ofsaid one of said plurality of CPE comprises a use thereof resulting in anetwork profit.
 44. The method of claim 42, wherein said at least twooptions comprise: (i) creating a new program stream, and causing saidone of said plurality of CPE to tune thereto; or (ii) causing said oneof said plurality of CPE to tune to a pre-existing program stream 45.The method of claim 44, wherein said at least one operationalconsideration of said network comprises an available bandwidth thereof.46. The method of claim 42, wherein said act of evaluating is performedusing a supervisory software process of said network.
 47. The method ofclaim 42, wherein said act of evaluating comprises performing a costanalysis for each of said at least two possible delivery options, andselecting an option having an optimal cost.
 48. The method of claim 42,wherein said act of performing one of said delivery options in order toservice said request comprises creating a new program stream, andcausing said CPE to tune thereto, said new stream containing spliced-inadvertising content, said advertising content being selected based atleast in part on demographic data associated with said requesting CPE.49. Apparatus for use in a content delivery network configured todeliver content to a plurality of user devices, said apparatuscomprising: at least one interface; a storage apparatus; a processorconfigured to execute at least one computer program thereon, said atleast one program comprising a plurality of instructions which areconfigured to, when executed by said processor, cause said apparatus to:receive a request for content from a first one of said plurality of userdevices; determine a likelihood of profitability of a geographic regionassociated with said first one of said plurality of user devices;perform an analysis between two or more possible options for servicingsaid program request, said analysis being based at least in part on saidlikelihood of profitability and on one or more network considerations;and select one of said two or more possible options for delivery basedat least in part on said analysis.
 50. The apparatus of claim 49,wherein said geographic region associated with said first one of saidplurality of users is determined based at least in part on an addressassociated to said first one of said plurality of user devices.
 51. Theapparatus of claim 49, wherein said plurality of instructions arefurther configured to, when executed by said processor, cause saidapparatus to cause said first one of said plurality of user devices totune to a Quadrature Amplitude Modulated (QAM) channel which correspondsto said selected delivery option.
 52. The apparatus of claim 51, whereinsaid selected delivery option comprises use of an existing programstream to satisfy said request.
 53. The apparatus of claim 49, whereinsaid apparatus comprises a control apparatus used in a broadcastswitched architecture (BSA) network switching hub.
 54. The apparatus ofclaim 49, wherein said analysis comprises a revenue-based analysis ofsaid two or more possible options, said two or more possible optionseach having an at least partly different geographic region profile, saidat least partly different geographic region profiles resulting indifferent revenues.
 55. A non-transitory computer readable apparatuscomprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least onecomputer program having a plurality of instructions, said plurality ofinstructions configured to, when executed by a processing apparatus:establish a plurality of at least partly different program streams forat least some of respective ones of a plurality of consumer equipment;identify at least one bandwidth constraint on a content delivery networkfrom which said plurality of consumer equipment receive content; migrateat least one of said plurality of consumer equipment to a program streamdifferent than that to which it is presently tuned; and selectivelyremove one or more of said plurality of program streams from beingdelivered over said network; wherein said migration is based at least inpart on a historical profitability of bandwidth use by said respectiveones of said plurality of consumer equipment.
 56. The apparatus of claim55, wherein said establishment of said plurality of at least partlydifferent program streams comprises creation of streams having contentat least partly determined based on a demographic associated with a userof said at least some of respective ones of said plurality of consumerequipment.
 57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein said migrationcomprises: identification of at least one of said plurality of at leastpartly different program streams that has a highest level of saidhistorical profitability of bandwidth use; and migration of said atleast one of said plurality of consumer equipment to said identifiedprogram stream.
 58. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein saididentification of said at least one bandwidth constraint comprisesidentification thereof based on analysis of a predicted value ofbandwidth consumption based at least in part on historical data.
 59. Theapparatus of claim 55, wherein said identification of said at least onebandwidth constraint comprises: determine a projected availablebandwidth at a future time; determine a projected demand for aparticular programming content associated to said plurality of programstreams; and determine said deficiency based at least on said projectedavailable bandwidth and said projected demand.
 60. The apparatus ofclaim 59, wherein at least one of said projected available bandwidth andsaid projected demand is based on historical data for a network.
 61. Theapparatus of claim 55, wherein said selective removal comprisesconsolidation of a plurality of users of said network onto one of saidplurality of streams so as to permit said removal.